AN  ORIENTAL 
LAND  OP  THE  FREE 

BY 
KEY.  J.  K.  FREEMftN 


*  NOV  301910  * 


BV  3255  .L2  F73  1910  copy  1 
Freeman,  John  Haskell,  1865 
An  oriental  land  of  the  frel 


NOV  30  1910 


An  Oriental 
Land  of  the  Free 


or 


Life  and  Mission  Work  Among 

the  l<aos  of  Siam,  Burma,  China 

and  Indo-China 


By 

Rev.  John  H.  Freeman 

Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  at  Chieng  Mai,  Laos. 


% 


Philadelphia 

The  Westminster  Press 

1910 


CALSEW 


^S 


Copyright,  1910 

By  the  Trustees  of  The  Presbyterian  Board  of 

Publication  and  Sabbath-School  Work 


Published  May,  1910 


AN  ORIENTAL  LAND  OF  THE  FREE 


CONTENTS 

chapter  page 

Introduction    9 

I.  Who  are  the  Laos  ? 13 

XL  Social  Custoais — Woman  in  the  Home  22 

III.  The     Yellow     Robe     and     What     It 

Brought  to  the  Laos 31 

IV.  Demon  Worship  and  Witchcraft 42 

V.  Arts  and  Industries    53 

VI.  The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest  65 

VII.  The  Face  of  the  Land 80 

VIII.  Trade  and  Travel 89 

IX.  Government  Past  and  Present  Among 

the  Laos  98 

X.  The  Coming  of  the  Gospel 107 

XI.  Touring  and  Teaching    124 

XII.  Hospitals  and  Healing  and  How  They 

Have  Helped   138 

XIII.  Schools,    the    Press    and    Christian 

Literature    151 

XIV.  The  Native  Church 163 

XV.  Opportunities,  Outlook,  Needs   173 

Questions  for  Study  179 

Appendix  A — Appendix  B    191 

Appendix    C    194 

Index    197 


EDITORIAL  PREFACE 

Mr.  Freeman's  furlough  expired  before  he  was 
able  to  see  the  manuscript  of  this  book  through  the 
press.  Dr.  J.  W.  McKean,  of  Chieng  Mai,  has  ad- 
vised with  the  editor  and  has  supplied  the  tables 
of  distances  between  the  Laos  stations,  and  of  the 
pronunciation  of  proper  names.  The  only  editorial 
changes  worth  mentioning  have  been  a  slight  re- 
arrangement of  the  original  order  of  the  chapters, 
the  insertion  of  subsequent  information  received 
from  Mr.  Freeman,  which  will  be  found  at  the  end 
of  Chapter  I,  and  the  substitution  of  a  set  of  ques- 
tions on  the  text  for  the  use  of  study  classes. 

T.  H.  P.  SAILER. 

March,  1910. 


10  Introduction 

It  is  not  the  wish  of  the  writer  to  forestall  in 
any  way  that  story.  He  rather  seeks  to  answer 
for  a  larger  audience  a  few  of  the  questions 
that  constantly  have  been  asked  of  him  as  he  told 
the  story  of  the  work  of  the  kingdom  in  that  far- 
away land.  Who  are  the  Laos?  Where  do  they 
live?  What  is  their  religion?  How  do  they  make 
a  living?  What  do  they  eat?  What  of  their 
language,  homes,  schools?  What  special  helps  and 
hindrances  does  the  missionary  find  in  presenting 
the  gospel  to  the  Laos  people?  By  picture,  as  well 
as  by  pen,  he  hopes  to  answer  these  questions  re- 
garding a  people  he  has  grown  not  only  to  respect 
but  to  love,  for  their  physical  prowess  and  mechan- 
ical skill ;  for  their  courtesy,  kindness  and  openness 
of  mind ;  for  moral  qualities  that  make  them  morally 
the  peers  of  any  race  in  Asia:  our  brothers  for 
whom  Christ  died. 

The  writer  hopes,  above  all,  so  to  present  the 
facts  that  the  reader  will  be  enabled  to  appreciate 
a  people  less  known  to  the  world  than  any  that  com- 
pares with  them  in  numbers  and  in  character,  and 
to  estimate  fairly  the  responsibility  that  rests  upon 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America  for  the  evangelization  of  this  great  and 
growing  people. 

This  little  book  is  intended  primarily  for  study 
classes  and  for  reference,  but  it  is  hoped  that  the 
facts  have  been  so  presented  as  to  commend  it  also 
to  a  larger  public  who  are  interested  rather  in 
strange  people  and   lands  than  in   mission  work. 


Introduction  1 1 

May  this  book  interest  some  such  readers  in  the 
greatest  undertaking  of  the  world  of  to-day. 

The  author  wishes  to  express  his  obligation  to 
James  W.  McKean,  M.  D.,  of  Chieng  Mai  for 
material  used  in  several  chapters.  Direct  quotation 
has  been  acknowledged  in  each  case,  but  several 
brief  passages  have  been  given  in  substance  where 
quotation  marks  could  not  be  used.  Dr.  McKean 
has  also  kindly  consented  to  read  proof,  since  the 
expiration  of  his  furlough  calls  the  writer  back  to 
his  distant  field. 

For  many  illustrations^  the  writer  is  indebted  to 
W.  A.  Briggs,  M.  D.,  of  Chieng  Rai,  but  he  has 
been  unable  to  ascertain  the  source  of  all  the  others. 
One  is  the  work  of  Rev.  W.  F.  Shields,  another  is 
probably  the  work  of  Mrs.  Curtis,  whose  "  The 
Laos  of  North  Siam  "  has  once  been  quoted  and 
repeatedly  referred  to  in  these  pages.  Her  book, 
which  is  published  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication,  gives  the  only  connected  account  now 
available  of  life  among  the  Laos.  The  only  other 
book  to  which  reference  need  be  made  is  "A 
Thousand  Miles  on  an  Elephant  in  the  Shan 
States  "  by  Holt  Hallett.  Chapters  in  some  books 
on  Siam  are  devoted  to  the  Laos  people,  but  aside 
from  these  two  books,  only  a  few  leaflets  and  the 
pages  of  the  "  Woman's  Work  "  and  of  the  "  As- 
sembly Herald,"  and  "Missionary  Review,"  es- 
pecially for  May,  1909,  can  be  referred  to  as  giv- 
ing recent  and  full  information  regarding  the  Laos 
people  or  the  work  among  them. 


An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 


CHAPTER    I 

WHO  ARE  THE  LAOS? 

Siam  and  Laos  have  for  many  years  been  associ- 
ated in  the  thoughts  and  gifts  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  but  few  even  of  those  who  read  our  mission 
publications,  and  contribute  to  work  there  carried 
on,  understand  clearly  what  and  where  "  Laos  "  is. 
Fewer  still  have  any  real  conception  of  the  oppor- 
tunity open  to  us  as  a  church  in  that  far-away 
land,  or  of  the  responsibility  that  rests  upon  us  for 
the  evangelization  of  a  great  and  growing  people. 
Laos  is  the  name  of  a  people,  not  of  a  political 
division.  Poland  once  found  its  place  on  every 
map  of  Europe;  to-day  it  cannot  be  found  there, 
for  the  Poles  are  subjects  of  three  powers,  Russia, 
Prussia  and  Austria.  So  the  Laos  are  subjects, 
not  of  Siam  alone,  but  of  France  in  Indo-China,  of 
England,  in  the  Shan  States,  of  Burma,  and  of 
China  in  all  her  southern  provinces. 

The  Tai  Race      ^7°    **'°"^^"'^    ^^^""^    ^^o    the 
.     ou-  Chmese  occupied  only  the  central 

m  Unina  .     ,       .  ^ ,  .  ^       , 

part  of  what  is  now  Chma.     South 

of  the  Yangtse  was  the  home  of  another  race  who 

called  themselves  Tai,  or  "  The  Free."     About  250 

B.  C.,  the  Chinese  pushed    southward    across    the 


14  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Yangtse  and  precipitated  a  conflict  with  the  Tai 
race  that  continued  for  five  hundred  years;  in  a 
sense  it  still  continues,  for  recent  troubles  in  South 
China  are  at  bottom  a  race  conflict.  Details  of 
these  wars  fill  many  volumes  of  the  Chinese  annals. 
rpt      rp  .  We  are  concerned  only  with  the  re- 

j~.        .  suit — the  gradual  movement  of  the  Tai 

race  southward  and  westward,  till 
they  reached  the  Bay  of  Bengal  on  the  west  and 
the  Gulf  of  Siam  on  the  south,  and  occupied  the 
whole  heart  of  the  peninsula  of  Indo-China. 
Scattered  aboriginal  tribes,  allied  to  the  Tibetans, 
withdrew  to  the  mountains,  leaving  to  the  Tai  race 
the  valleys  and  fertile  plains  that  are  still  their 
home.  These  aborigines  are  now  known  as  "  the 
Hill  Tribes  "  of  Indo-China  and  Burma. 
Th  T  *  T  ff  ■'"^  must  not  be  thought  that  the 
P»  ,  .    ,  whole   of  the  Tai  race  was  driven 

^,  .  out  of  China.     A  part  was  absorbed 

m  China  •  .    .1  r  .u    r-w 

mto  the  mass  of  the  Chmese  race,  so 

that  the  Cantonese  of  to-day  differ  from  the  typical 
Chinese  largely  by  an  admixture  of  Tai  blood  and 
language.  Non-Chinese  people,  many  millions  in 
all,  are  also  found  in  all  the  southern  provinces  of 
China.  Many — perhaps  most — of  these  belong  to 
the  Tai  race.  Still  the  Tai  migration  was  a  great 
race  movement,  and  its  advance  may  well  be  com- 
pared to  that  of  an  army. 

_,  The  left  wing  of  this  army  of  migration, 

^.  moving    southward    parallel    with    the 

Chinese  Sea,  came  in  contact  with  the 


Who  Are  the  Laos?  15 

Cambodians,  who  already  possessed  a  civilization 
and  a  written  language  derived  from  India.  Meet- 
ing and  mingling  with  the  Cambodians  and  Ma- 
lays, later  with  the  Chinese  immigrants  who  came, 
(and  are  still  coming)  by  sea,  the  left  wing  of  the 
Tai  army  became  the  Siamese  of  to-day.  Although 
mixed  in  blood  and  language,  they  still  call  them- 
selves Tai.  They  occupy  most  of  the  southern  half 
of  the  kingdom  of  Siam. 

_-  The  right  wing,  moving   westward    in- 

---  stead  of  south,  that  is,  across  the  valleys 

^^,  of  the    Cambodia    and    Salween    rivers, 

came  in  contact  with  the  Burmese.  Al- 
though their  language  was  less  modified  than  that 
of  the  Siamese,  it  is  still  quite  distinct  from  typical 
Tai,  and  written  in  a  different  character.  Their 
neighbors  call  them  "  Gnee-o,"  but  English  writers 
call  all  the  race  "  Shans  "  and  this  branch  of  them 
"  Western  Shans."  They  give  name  to  the  so- 
called  "  Shan  States  "  of  Burma. 
_,,  The  center  or  main  body  of  the  Tai  migra- 
j  tion  came  in  contact  with  no  other  great  race, 

and  were  profoundly  modified  by  only  one 
outside  influence,  that  of  the  missionaries  of 
Buddhism.  They  remain  to-day  practically  un- 
mixed in  blood  and  unmixed  in  language,  save 
for  religious  and  polite  terms  derived  from  Pali, 
the  sacred  language  of  Buddhism.  Although  they 
call  themselves  Tai  or  "  The  Free,"  and  are  better 
entitled  to  that  name  than  the  Siamese  and  West- 
ern Shans,  we  prefer  to  use  the  name  applied  to 


i6  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

them  by  the  Siamese  and  French,  and  anglicized  as 
Laos.  Laos  is  really  the  name  of  one  tribe  and 
that  not  the  largest,  but  it  seems  the  most  dis- 
tinctive term  to  include  those,  and  only  those, 
whose  vernacular  and  written  character  is  the  same 
as  that  in  use  in  Chieng  Mai,  the  largest  city  and, 
so  to  speak,  the  capital  of  the  Laos. 

1^1  •!-.  ^  ^  Althousrh  they  were  formerly  divided 
The  Extent     .  ,     ,  -1         i         ■,  .    \ 

-  into  tribes  whose  descendants  retam 

,     _  some  pecularities  of  dress  and  speech, 

and  are  found  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  four  different  governments, — Siam,  Burma, 
China  and  French  Indo-China — over  an  area  as 
large  as  all  France  and  Germany  combined,  they 
are  one  people.  From  southeast  to  northwest,  fol- 
lowing the  general  course  of  the  Mekong  or  Cam- 
bodia River,  one  may  travel  a  thousand  miles  in  a 
straight  line  without  reaching  the  limits  of  the  Laos 
people.  From  the  Salween  on  the  west,  almost  to 
the  China  Sea  on  the  east,  throughout  the  northern 
half  of  Siam,  on  across  the  Shan  States  of  Burma, 
and  at  least  two  hundred  miles  farther  into  the 
Yunnan  province,  China,  the  spoken  language  dif- 
fers less  than  the  English  of  Cornwall  or  Yorkshire 
differs  from  that  of  London. 

r,,,  ,^.„  Isolated  "  hill  tribes,"  each  with  its  own 
The  Hill     -  A  J  z       A    ' 

^  .,  lans^uaire    and    customs,    are    found    in 

Tribes 

many  parts  of  this  area,  but  they  are 

islands  in  a  sea;  their  only  means  of  communica- 
tion with  each  other  and  with  the  people  of  the 
plains   is   the   Laos   language,   the   ''lingua  franca" 


Who  Are  the  Laos?  17 

of  them  all.  This,  then,  is  the  language  through 
which  this  whole  vast  area  must  be  won  for  Christ. 
_^       -    .  No  reliable  census  of  the  Laos  people 

in  either  of  the  four  countries  in 
which  they  are  found  has  ever  been  made.  Most 
so-called  census  enumerations  aim  to  determine  the 
number  of  adult  males  subject  to  poll  tax;  women 
and  children  are  scarcely  counted.  The  most  re- 
liable estimates  give  the  Laos  population  of  Siam 
as  something  over  three  million.  French  Indo- 
China  and  the  Shan  States  of  Burma  are  largely 
Laos,  but  more  sparsely  settled  than  Siam.  Prob- 
ably two  millions  is  a  conservative  estimate  of  the 
Laos  population  in  French  and  British  territory. 
The  people  of  the  "  Sip  Song  Punna "  (Twelve 
States)  in  southern  Yunnan  are  distinctly  Laos,  and 
northward  and  westward  nearly  to  Tali-fu  and 
Yunnan-fu,  the  language  differs  little,  if  at  all,  from 
typical  Laos.  Eastward  and  southward  along  the 
border  of  China  and  Tonquin  are  several  million 
non-Chinese  people,  most  of  them  probably  Tai. 
We  have  little  definite  knowledge  of  them.  These 
"  Maotze  "  and  other  tribes  like  the  Loi  people  of 
the  island  of  Hainan,  may  differ  somewhat  widely 
from  the  Laos.  Counting  only  the  Tai  people  of 
Yunnan,  not  those  farther  east  and  south,  the  Laos 
in  China  may  number  two  millions,  and  the  total  of 
all  the  Laos  may  be  anywhere  from  six  to  ten  mil- 
lions.^ At  least  ten  times  as  numerous  as  the  Shans, 

iThe   information   received   from   Mr.   Freeman  which   is 
given  at  the  close  of  this  chapter  would  seem  to  indicate  that 


i8  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

two  or  three  times  as  many  as  the  Siamese,  the 
Laos  constitute  the  great  body  of  the  Tai  race.  In 
area  of  land  occupied  they  are  the  first  among  the 
people  of  Indo-China;  in  numbers  second  only  to 
the  Annamites. 

Anticipating  what  will  be  presented  more  at 
length  further  on,  permit  the  writer  to  answer  in 
a  few  words  the  question,  "  Why  should  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  pray  and  labor  especially  for  the 
Laos  people?" 

First.  It  is  a  great  field.  This  requires  no 
further  word  to  one  who  has  read  the  preceding 
pages. 

Second.  It  is  our  field  in  a  sense  that  can  be  said 
of  hardly  any  other  great  field  where  our  board  is 
at  work.  Fruitful  as  has  been  the  missionary 
work  done  by  our  representatives  in  Canton,  China, 
we  share  the  work  and  responsibility  there  with  at 
least  four  other  churches.  In  Korea,  Presbyterians 
in  the  United  States  and  in  Australia,  Northern  and 
Southern  Methodists,  and  a  few  Anglicans,  share 
with  us  the  responsibility  and  the  blessing.  Even 
in  Siam,  often  spoken  of  as  our  field,  the  Baptists 
have  a  small  work  for  the  Chinese  and  the  Disciples 
have  opened  a  station  in  recent  years.  Work  for 
the  Laos  people    is   wholly    our   own.      A  single 

the  Tai  race  are  more  numerous  in  the  north  than  he  had 
at  first  supposed.  It  would  appear  to  be  safe  to  increase  the 
estimate  of  the  total  population  of  the  Laos  given  in  the  text 
by  at  least  a  million.  The  Laos  probably  number  from  seven 
to  eleven  millions. 


Who  Are  the  Laos?  i9 

station  of  the  French  Presbyterians  in  French  ter- 
ritory where  the  French  Government  at  present 
does  not  permit  us  to  work,  and  four  hundred  miles 
from  our  nearest  station,  is  the  only  exception. 
The  Laos  are  peculiarly  our  field. 

Third.  The  Laos  are  physically  vigorous,  and 
rapidly  increasing  in  numbers,  and  are  morally 
peers  of  any  race  in  the  non-Christian  world. 

Fourth.  Successes  already  won  encourage  us  to 
look  for  still  greater  fruit  in  the  future.  Buddhist 
peoples  are  justly  regarded  as  peculiarly  difficult  to 
reach  with  the  gospel.  The  small  numbers  en- 
rolled in  Christian  churches  among  the  Burmese, 
the  Ceylonese,  the  Siamese,  after  eighty  to  one 
hundred  years  of  missionary  effort,  bear  witness  to 
this  fact.  While  the  gospel  has  had  no  such 
marvelous  success  among  the  Laos  as  in  Korea  or 
the  Philippines,  we  find  among  them  the  largest 
Christian  church  that  has  grown  up  anywhere 
among  the  Southern  Buddhists. 

Fifth.  It  is  a  field  just  now  peculiarly  open  to 
the  gospel.  It  is  a  time  of  transition ;  never  before 
were  the  minds  of  the  village  and  district  officials 
(higher  officers  are  mostly  Siamese  and  com- 
paratively indifferent  to  religious  things),  so  full 
of  inquiry  regarding  the  ways  and  religion  of  the 
West.  In  almost  every  village,  in  almost  every 
home,  the  missionary  and  his  message  are  welcome. 
The  railroad  is  nearing  us,  the  bicycle  and  automo- 
bile are  often  seen ;  the  rush  of  modern  life,  absorp- 
tion in  material  things  will  within  ten  years  render 


20  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

many  of  these  people  more  difficult  to  reach  with 
the  gospel.     Now  is  the  day  of  opportunity. 

Sixth.  It  is  emphatically  a  needy  field.  In  a 
land  less  densely  populated  than  India  or  China,  the 
individual  missionary  can  come  in  touch  with  only 
a  smaller  number.  Yet,  counting  only  that  part  of 
our  field  within  measurable  reach  of  our  present 
stations,  each  missionary,  clerical  or  medical,  has 
about  him  a  parish  of  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  souls.  Beyond  the  limits  touched  in  any 
way  by  our  present  work,  yet  one  in  blood,  in  lan- 
guage, in  customs,  with  the  Laos  of  Slam,  and  equal 
in  population,  lie  the  vast,  unoccupied  fields  of 
French  and  Chinese  Laos. 

"  Is  the  Presbyterian  Church  planning  for  any- 
thing less  than  the  conquest  of  the  whole  Laos 
people  for  Christ?" 


Since  finishing  the  manuscript  of  this  book,  the  author  has 
made  a  journey  from  Haiphong,  in  Tonking,  to  Mengtse,  in 
Yunnan  province  in  China.  Returning  to  Hanoi,  he  turned 
northwards  and  crossed  the  Chinese  border  again  to  Lung- 
chow,  Kwangsi,  and  from  here  traveled  down  the  river,  via 
Nanning  and  Wu-chow,  to  Hongkong.  Writing  from  Lung- 
chow,  he  says  that  the  nearest  mission  station  to  the  north 
is  Tu-shan-chow,  in  Kweichow,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
distant;  to  the  east,  Nanning-fu  is  one  hundred  miles  in  a 
direct  line,  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  by  the  river;  due 
west,  the  nearest  station  is  Bhamo,  seven  hundred  miles  away, 
although  to  the  northwest  there  is  a  station  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  distant;  to  the  south  and  west,  no  Protestant 
•work  is  found  nearer  than  the  Presbyterian  station  of  Chieng 
Rai,  nearly  seven  hundred  miles   in  a  direct  line.     In  this 


Who  Are  the  Laos?  21 

vast  area  he  estimates  that  there  are  at  least  fifteen  million 
people,  over  five  million  of  whom  are  of  the  Tai  race.  Mr. 
Freeman  writes  that  he  was  able  to  converse  with  these 
people  with  little  difficulty,  readily  understanding  five  sixths 
of  their  words.  Of  a  vocabulary  of  four  hundred  words 
which  he  gathered  on  both  sides  of  the  Chinese  frontier, 
only  sixty-seven,  or  one  in  six,  differed  essentially  from  the 
common  speech  of  Chieng  Mai,  a  thousand  miles  away.  There 
were  also  slight  differences  in  pronunciation  and  tone,  but 
the  people  would  soon  exclaim,  "  Why,  he  speaks  Tai."  In 
one  village  which  he  visited,  the  elders  gathered  and  with 
great  cordiality  helped  him  compare  their  speech  with  that  of 
Chieng  Mai.  The  vocabulary  differed  most  in  religious  terms, 
since  the  people  are  not  Buddhists. 

He  closes  his  letter  with  this  statement  of  the  things  ac- 
complished by  the  journey: 

"  First.  I  have  succeeded  in  determining,  as  no  missionary 
or  other  traveler  has  done  before,  the  extent  and  limits  of 
Tai  population  and  speech.  Second,  I  have  found  that  the 
Tai  people  of  Tonking,  described  by  French  writers  who 
could  not  speak  their  language  but  saw  the  obvious  differences 
of  dress,  differ  less  widely  in  speech  than  I  expected.  In 
fact,  clear  over  into  Kwangtung  and  Kweichow  provinces 
they  are  really  our  people.  Third.  I  have  helped  to  form  a 
bond  of  Christian  fellowship  between  the  churches  of  Laos 
and  in  Kwangsi  [where  he  found  churches  of  Tai  blood]. 
Distant  a  thousand  miles,  they  are  yet  kindred  in  blood  as 
well  as  in  faith.  Fourth,  I  have  seen  ways  in  which  I  hope 
our  own  church  can  immediately  and  practically  help  to  make 
a  beginning  in  reaching  these  brethren  of  our  Laos  people 
with  the  gospel.  I  sincerely  hope  some  Laos  missionary  can 
come  for  a  year  to  study  the  problem  and  the  people  more 
fully  than  I  could  do  in  this  hurried  journey.  He  may  be 
able  in  a  year  of  exploration  to  help  missionaries  on  the  field 
in  Kwangsi  to  acquire  the  language  of  this  people,  for  whom 
as  yet  not  a  single  Protestant  missionary  is  definitely  at 
work." 


CHAPTER    II 

SOCIAL   CUSTOMS — WOMAN    IN    THE    HOME 

^j.g  ^j^  The    complexion,    physique    and 

Laos  Malay  industries   of  the   Laos   are  not 

or  Mongolian?  """^^^^  ^^""^^  ^^  ^^^  Filipinos  and 
other  peoples  usually  accounted 
Malays;  their  history  and  geographical  position 
show  close  association  with  the  Chinese,  and  their 
language,  consisting  of  unchangeable  monosyllables, 
with  a  highly  developed  tonal  system  found  outside 
the  Tai  race  only  in  China,  argues  still  more  defi- 
nitely for  a  Mongolian  origin.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  absence  of  high  cheek  bones,  almond  eyes  and 
the  peculiar  complexion  popularly  considered  char- 
acteristic of  the  "Yellow  Race,"  has  led  some 
students  of  ethnography  to  deny  that  the  Laos  are 
Mongolian  and  even  to  argue  that  they  are  Caucas- 
ian. The  racial  relations  of  the  Laos  are  puzzling, 
but  the  conviction  is  growing,  that  the  entire  Tai 
race  is  Mongolian. 

Their  Race      ^^^^  whatever  may  be  the  racial   re- 
Inhe  't  lations  of  the  Laos,  their  social  cus- 

toms, especially  the  position  of 
women,  set  them  apart  for  any  of  their  neigh- 
bors. Nowhere  in  Asia,  rarely  elsewhere,  does 
woman  occupy  the   high  place   in  the   home,   and 

22 


Buddhist  Monks 


Social  Customs— Woman  in  the  Home       23 

enjoy  such  entire  equality  with  man  before  the 
law,  as  is  accorded  to  her  among  the  Laos.  The 
Siamese  are  of  kindred  blood,  but  association  with 
other  races  has  modified  the  position  of  woman  so 
that  she  is  not  the  peer  of  man  and  the  queen  of  the 
home  among  them,  as  she  certainly  is  among  the 
Laos.  This  unique  position  of  woman,  and  the 
high  moral  standards  that  accompany  it,  cannot  be 
attributed  to  Buddhism  or  to  any  outside  influence; 
they  are  a  part  of  the  racial  inheritance  of  the  Laos 
people. 

-  A    Laos   house   consists   usually   of   a 

p  ,  .       single   "  Roof,"    somewhat   more   than 

"  half  of  which  is  inclosed  by  walls. 
Into  the  inclosed  part,  the  sleeping  apartment  of 
the  family,  the  stranger  is  not  invited.  The  balance, 
which  is  inclosed  on  only  two  sides,  is  the  living 
room  of  the  house.  Here  the  family  eats  and  re- 
ceives guests.  On  moonlight  evenings  fathers  and 
mothers  who  have  marriageable  daughters  retire 
early,  leaving  this  porch  or  living  room  to  the 
young  folks.  The  wall  between  is  thin,  usually 
wickerwork  woven  of  bamboo  splints,  so  that  those 
within  can  readily  hear,  even  see,  if  they  wish,  what 
goes  on.  Still  the  young  girl  is  left  largely  on  her 
honor,  as  are  American  girls  in  similar  circum- 
stances. 

„  -  ,         A  woman  is  guarded,  however,  by 

-  p  custom  even  more  than  by  the  watch- 

fulness of  friends.     Custom  forbids 
the  lover  to  touch  so  much  as  the  hand  of  his  mis- 


24  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

tress,  or  of  any  woman.  In  visiting  her,  unless  he 
takes  a  friend  with  him,  he  places  himself  wholly 
in  her  power.  If  she  says  that  in  any  way  he  has 
overstepped  the  proprieties,  no  court  will  listen  to 
his  denial.  It  is  assumed  that  he  has  offended 
against  the  spirits  of  the  household  in  which  he 
visited,  and  must  pay  a  fine,  the  amount  of  which 
is  determined  by  custom,  to  the  family  of  which  the 
girl  is  a  member.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  girl 
may,  and  does,  abuse  this  power,  but  a  girl  who  is 
known  to  have  done  so  has  few  visitors. 
__      .  The  parents  may  arrange  a  match  for 

_  son  or  daughter,  but  the  final  decision 

rests  with  the  girl  herself.  Not  infre- 
quently the  young  people  have  their  way  despite 
opposition  from  the  parents  on  one  or  both  sides. 
Wedding  customs  differ  widely.  Among  the 
poorer  people  there  is  often  no  ceremony  and  no 
written  contract.  The  bridegroom  simply  goes  to 
the  home  of  the  bride,  and,  by  becoming  a  member 
of  his  wife's  family,  ceases  to  have  part  or  inherit- 
ance in  his  father's  family.  The  inheritance 
usually,  though  not  necessarily,  goes  to  the 
daughters  and  unmarried  sons,  that  is,  to  those  who 
are  resident  with  the  parents  at  the  time  of  their 
death.  Where  either  or  both  parties  to  the  marriage 
have  property,  a  written  legal  contract  is  made, 
and  as  a  rule  there  are  ceremonies  in  which  the 
guardian  spirits  of  both  households  are  supposed 
to  take  part.  So  sensitive  to  ridicule  are  the  con- 
tracting   parties,    however,    that    the    contract    is 


Social  Customs — Woman  in  the  Home       25 

drawn  up  by  the  legal  representative  of  each,  and 
the  bridegroom  usually  disappears  immediately 
after  the  contract  has  been  signed,  and  is  not  seen 
again  at  the  home  of  the  bride  for  several  days. 
Then  the  timid  husband  quietly  slips  in  without  re- 
mark, and  takes  up  his  duties  under  the  critical  eyes 
of  his  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law. 

,,  ^  As  in  western  lands,  it  is  not  at  all  un- 
knots ,,  .'  ,  ,  , 
TT  .•  ■•  common  to  marrv  m  haste  and  repent  at 
Untied     -  .         „     rri           \u      '     ^ 

leisure.  ine  mother-m-law  may  con- 
ceive a  violent  dislike  to  her  new  son-in-law  and  tell 
her  daughter  to  send  him  packing.  The  young 
wife  herself  may  find  him  lazy  or  disagreeable,  or 
in  a  fit  of  anger  she  may  bundle  up  his  clothes  and 
throw  them  out  of  doors.  In  either  case  the  young 
man  usually  stands  not  on  the  order  of  his  going. 
With  scarcely  more  ceremony,  he  too,  may,  if  he 
chooses,  leave  his  wife  and  return  to  his  father's 
roof.  The  parents  may — often  they  do — induce  the 
young  couple  to  make  up  their  quarrel,  and  where 
property  is  involved,  one  or  more  conferences  be- 
tween the  heads  of  both  households  is  necessary 
before  the  separation  is  complete.  Such  matters 
do  not  often  come  into  the  courts. 

_.  Easy  as  divorce  may  seem  to  be, 

Divorce  ,^,        ,           ^i,              •         1       / 

_,         ,    _.  a-nd  loosely  as  the  marriaore  knot 

Though  Easy  \     .      r    .       j    •      .i. 

-_      ^           "^  may   seem   to   be   fastened   in   the 

Not  Common  ^                r  i-r    ^       .1        j. 

early  years  of  life  together,  divorce 

is  not  common  in  later  years,  and  especially  after 

children  have  been  born,  unless  it  be  for  "  statutory 

cause,"  which  there,  as  here,  is  held  to  dissolve  the 


26  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

marriage  bond.  The  injured  party  may  condone 
the  fault,  but  adultery  and  polygamy  are  con- 
demned and  forbidden  in  every  form  by  Laos  cus- 
tom and  public  opinion.  The  customs  of  the 
Siamese  differ  radically  in  these  respects  from  those 
of  the  Laos.  As  Siamese  rule  and  influence  have 
increased  in  the  north,  some  of  the  princes  and  of 
the  official  class  have  taken  more  than  one  wife. 
Siamese  law  also  gives  to  the  husband  a  license 
wholly  foreign  to  the  purer  customs  of  the  Laos. 

T,      .  ,     One  cause  of  divorce  not  uncommon 

Famme  and      ,  ..        i  ..     i 

p..^  deserves  mention,  because  it  shows 

in  a  curious  way  the  difference  be- 
tween the  point  of  view  of  the  Laos  and  our  own. 
Rice  is  almost  the  only  food  of  the  people.  A 
failure  of  the  rice  crop,  whether  due  to  drought  or 
flood,  means  suffering,  if  not  famine,  in  the  region 
affected  by  it.  Rice  may  be  plenty  and  cheap  forty 
miles  away  across  the  mountains,  but  the  utter  lack 
of  roads  or  good  transport  facilities  makes  the 
suffering  acute  in  the  valleys  where  rice  has  failed. 
The  father  of  a  family  may  find  that  the  supply  of 
rice  is  sufficient  to  tide  wife  and  children  and  the 
wife's  parents  over  until  another  season,  but  it  is 
not  enough  for  him  also.  With  the  wife's  consent 
he  goes  across  the  mountains  to  seek  work  and 
food.  He  may  find  both  on  condition  that  he  marry 
the  daughter  of  his  employer;  or  for  some  other 
reason  he  may  marry  there  and  never  return.  Does 
this  involve  hardship  to  the  wife  and  children  he 
has  left  behind?     Not  necessarily.     It  must  be  re- 


Laos  Women  and  Children 
In  Chinese  Territory 


Laos  Women  and  Children,  Chieng  Mai 


Social  Customs — Woman  in  the  Home       27 

membered  that  house  and  farm,  cattle  and  chickens, 
all  he  possessed,  has  been  left  with  the  wife. 
„  The  children  are  not  a  burden  on  the 

mother.    At  five  or  six  years  of  age  they 
p,  ..  carry     about     and     amuse    a    younger 

^  ^^"  brother  or  sister,  help  with  the  wood  and 
water,  run  errands,  and  a  little  later  watch  the 
buffaloes  and  the  cattle.  The  cotton  for  their 
scanty  clothing  is  grown,  carded,  spun  and  woven 
with  their  help  in  the  home.  Nearly  all  they  eat  is 
grown  in  their  own  field,  or  garden,  or  found  in  the 
forest.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
children  lack  time  for  merry  play,  or  that  their 
work  is  constant  or  beyond  their  strength. 
-,,  If  a  young  woman  is  left  a  widow  with 

-^  ?-  small  children,  this  is  no  bar  to  remarriage ; 
x>^l^  on  the  whole,  children  are  regarded  as  an 
asset  rather  than  a  liability  in  the  land  of 
the  Laos.  It  is  a  very  strong  bond  which  unites 
parents  and  children  to  each  other  and  to  the  home. 
Only  under  most  exceptional  circumstances,  such  as 
famine,  does  the  father  leave  his  wife  and  children. 
"  Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home," 
is  certainly  the  sentiment  of  the  Laos.  One  feature 
of  the  home  life  must  not  be  forgotten.  Near  the 
stairs  by  which  one  goes  up  into  the  house,  stands 
a  jar  of  water  and  a  cocoanut  shell  dipper.  Bare 
feet  are  the  rule,  but  if  sandals  are  worn  they  are 
removed,  and  the  feet  are  washed  at  the  jar  before 
entering  the  house.  When  the  lusty  cry  of  the  new- 
born child  is  heard,  presently  the  grandmother  or 


28  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

some  other  elderly  woman  appears  and  seats  her- 
self beside  the  water  jar  with  the  child  cradled  be- 
tween her  outstretched  bare  feet.  With  the  cocoa- 
nut  dipper  in  her  left  hand  she  dashes  cold  water 
over  the  squirming,  squealing  child,  and  with  her 
right  scrubs  it  more  or  less  vigorously.  Soap  is 
not  always  used,  for  soap  is  a  luxury  which  many 
cannot  afford,  so  that  the  missionary  has  learned 
that  a  cake  of  soap  is  a  most  acceptable  present. 
The  habit  of  a  daily  cold  bath  thus  begun  at  birth 
keeps  a  beautiful,  soft  glow  on  the  skin  of  the  aver- 
age Laos  man  or  woman.  Whoever  among  them 
fails  to  have  his  daily  bath  is  uncomfortable.  In 
person  and  in  dress  the  Laos  are  a  cleanly  race. 
-^       .  The   fact  that   daughters   bring  their 

husbands  to  live  with  and  so  watch 
over  the  declining  years  of  father  and  mother, 
makes  the  advent  of  a  girl  in  the  house  peculiarly 
welcome.  More  than  once  a  father  and  mother 
with  several  stalwart  sons  have  bewailed  to  me  the 
fact  that  no  daughters  have  come  to  bless  their 
home.  In  such  a  case  one  of  the  sons  usually  in- 
duces his  bride  to  leave  her  own  home  and  become 
a  daughter  to  his  father  and  mother,  but  such  an 
arrangement  is  contrary  to  custom  (all-powerful 
among  the  Laos),  difficult  for  the  young  woman, 
and  often  impracticable,  if  not  impossible. 
---  While  the  wife  and  mother  goes  to  the 

.      ,  early  market  to  sell  her  produce  and  buy 

TT  ^ler  supplies,  the  husband  and  children  get 

the  breakfast  and  attend  to  the  babies. 


Social  Customs — Woman  in  the  Home       29 

Other  duties  in  the  home  are  lighter  than  in  a 
colder  clime.  Women,  therefore,  find  time  for  not 
a  little  work  out  of  doors,  although  the  heavier 
work  is  always  done  by  the  men.  The  men  dig  the 
irrigation  ditches,  build  the  dams,  plow  and  harrow 
the  fields.  When  the  land  is  ready,  the  wife  and 
children  aid  in  the  planting  and,  later,  in  the  har- 
vest. The  lighter  work  of  the  garden  near  the 
house  falls  also  to  the  wife  and  children,  and  as  the 
garden  is  made  in  the  dry  season,  the  task  of  water- 
ing and  caring  for  it  is  not  small. 

As  three  fourths  of  the  country  is  too  wild  and 
mountainous  ever  to  be  cultivated,  and  the  fertile 
valleys  are  usually  narrow,  the  forest  is  within 
reach  of  most  villages.  Roots  and  herbs,  mush- 
rooms and  bamboo  shoots  found  in  these  forests, 
frogs  and  small  fish  from  the  streams  and  ponds, 
form  no  small  part  of  the  "  relish "  ("  kahp,"  or 
"  with "  is  the  native  word)  eaten  with  rice. 
Trips  to  the  forest  to  gather  these  are  a  sort  of 
holiday  enjoyed  and  shared  in  by  all  the  family. 
_  If  husband  and  wife,  with  or  without  the 

children,  make  a  journey  tog-ether,  you 
Tourney         .,,     r/  .i.        t  •  r 

•^  will  often  see  the  wife  carrying  some  of 

the  products  of  her  garden  or  loom  for  sale,  or  food 

and  other  necessities  for  the  journey,  the  husband 

striding  by  her  side  with  little  load  save  his  sword 

and  gun.     I  think  this  is  a  reminiscence  of  a  time, 

not  long  past,  when  the  men  of  the  party  were  of 

necessity  free  from  burdens  that  they  might  be  on 

the  alert  to  protect  the  company  from  savage  beasts 


30  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

and  more  savage  men.    Along  the  more  frequented 

roads  and  in  densely  populated  regions,  especially 

if  there  is  anything  really  heavy  to  be  carried,  the 

man  usually  takes  his  share  of  the  burden. 

,^.  The   women  rarely   share   in  the  longer 

Women    ^     ,.  ...    ^    ^.    ^        ,  ^   . 

,  tradmg  expeditions  that  make  many  of 

^  ,  the  men  familiar  with  the  roads  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles  in  every  direction  from 
their  homes,  but  the  local  trade  is  almost  wholly  in 
their  hands.  Three  fourths  of  the  attendants  at 
the  daily  markets,  both  buyers  and  sellers,  are 
women.  Most  women  add  not  a  little  to  the  family 
income  in  this  way,  or  by  trade  in  their  own  homes. 
The  wife  is  usually  the  treasurer  of  the  home,  and 
the  husband  is  expected  to  place  his  earnings  in  her 
hands. 

^  In  a  word,  instead  of  the  seclusion  or  sub- 

\    ,         serviency  that  is  the  lot  of  woman  in  most 
TT  parts  of  Asia,  the  Laos  wife,  quite  as  much 

as  her  husband,  is  the  head  of  the  house- 
hold. Neither  the  husband  nor  the  wife  is  expected 
to  enter  upon  any  important  business  alone.  They 
share  the  work,  the  responsibility,  the  rewards  of 
their  labor.  The  whole  atmosphere  of  a  Laos  home 
is  on  a  plane  distinctly  higher  than  we  find  in  any 
other  non-Christian  land,  so  far  as  I  am  aware.  In 
that  home  woman  is  the  queen.^ 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    YELLOW    ROBE    AND    WHAT    IT    BROUGHT    TO    THE 

LAOS  • 

_,  As  one  goes  in  the  early  morning  along 

-^       .  the  street  of  any  Laos  city  or  village,  he 

egging     .^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  yellow-robed  figures  with 

shaven  heads.  Each  carries  the  "  beg- 
ging bowl "  and  the  fan,  characteristic  possessions 
of  the  Buddhist  monk.  With  the  fan  he  covers  his 
face  while  he  receives  gifts  of  steaming  rice  at  each 
door  and  mutters  the  Buddhist  formula  of  bless- 
ing. The  wealthier  households  also  send  a  child  or 
dependent  to  the  monastery  loaded  with  hot  food 
for  "  the  order."  In  this  way  every  household  con- 
tributes at  least  a  handful  of  steaming  rice  each 
morning  to  the  support  of  the  monks,  and  in  num- 
berless other  ways  the  rites  and  observances  of 
which  the  "  Yellow  Robe  "  is  the  type,  touch  the 
daily  life  and  thought  of  the  Laos  people. 
,  -_-  About  the  "  wat,"  which  is  at  once 
'  monastery,  temple  and  school,  centers 
^        .  the  life  of  the  village,  of  the  city,  of  the 

whole  land.  There  is  the  "  sala "  or 
rest  house  where  the  traveler  finds  a  stopping 
place;  in  the  "sala,"  or  even  in  the  temple  itself, 
the  itinerant  trader  opens  and  displays  his  wares; 
all  the  festivals  and  merrymakings,  the  social  and 

31 


32  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

political,  as  well  as  the  religious  life  of  the  village, 
there  have  their  homes.  It  is  fair  to  study  first 
this  center  of  much  that  appeals  to  the  deepest  feel- 
ings of  the  Laos  people,  and  to  ask  what  the  Yellow 
Robe  has  brought  to  the  Laos. 
_,      p       .  I  have  already  said  that,  unlike  the 

-  ^,  Siamese  and   Western   Shans,  the 

of  the  -  ,  .  .  , 

-.  ,-        _,  1-         Laos  people  came  m  contact  with 
Yellow  Robe  .1  .  •     .1. 

no  other  great  race  m  the  course 

of  their  migration,  and  were  profoundly  aflfected  by 
only  one  outside  influence,  that  of  Buddhism.  In 
Ceylon,  Buddhism  had  retained  something  of  the 
moral  earnestness  and  missionary  spirit  that  marked 
its  founder.  About  A.  D.,  500,  a  Buddhist  revival, 
begun  there,  carried  the  Yellow  Robe  to  Burma 
and,  a  little  later,  to  the  Laos  and  Siamese.  What 
did  its  missionaries  bring  to  this  people? 
^-      -  First.     They  found  the  Laos  without  a 

AT  In  h  f  written  character.  With  no  little  in- 
genuity and  patience  they  adapted  the 
somewhat  meager  alphabet  of  Pali,  the  language 
of  their  sacred  books,  to  express  the  forty-five  con- 
sonants and  forty-four  vowels  of  the  Laos  tongue, 
and  its  eight  tones  as  well.  The  writer  knows  of 
no  other  alphabet,  whether  in  Europe  or  in  Asia, 
that  is  so  rich  in  variety  of  vocal  elements  or  so 
competely  phonetic  as  that  of  the  Laos.  Yet  the 
task  of  the  Laos  child  in  learning  to  read  is  less 
difficult  than  that  of  most  European  children,  far 
less  than  that  of  the  English  child.  The  gift  of  this 
alphabet,  which  is  popularly  believed  to  have  come 


The  Yellow  Robe  33 

from  the  Buddha  himself,  was  not  the  least  of  the 
benefits  that  Buddhism  brought  to  the  Laos. 

Second.     Buddhism  brought  also  edu- 
Buddhism      ^^^.^^  ^^^  ^^^  wealth  of  Indian  litera- 

^         ,  ture  and  civilization  within  the  reach 

Education      ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^     P^^  women,  there 

as  everywhere,  Buddhism  does  little.  About  one 
in  three  of  the  boys  is  educated  in  the  monasteries. 
When  they  have  learned  to  read  and  to  repeat  cer- 
tian  formulae,  they  may  take  the  first  vows  as 
novices.  Even  if  they  remain  in  the  temple  until 
they  are  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  take  the  full 
monastic  vows,  they  are  not  bound  to  celibacy  and 
_       J  poverty  for  life.     They  may  leave  the 

-^     .         J     order  and  marry  when  they  choose,  and 
*     *  most  of  them  do  so.     If  they  have  be- 

come novices  before  they  leave  the 
monastery,  they  are  known  through  life  by  the  title 
of  "  Noi " ;  if  they  have  become  full  monks,  they 
earn  the  higher  title  of  "  Nan."  All  who  have  not 
studied  in  the  monasteries  are  known  as  "  khone 
dip,"  "  green  men,"  and  readily  yield  precedence 
and  honor  to  the  "Nan"  and  the  "Noi."  Bud- 
dhism has  made  education  honorable  among  the 
Laos. 

The  Tri  Pitaka,  often  called  the   Bud- 

dhist    Bible,   and   other   books   modeled 

-^  ^        upon  it  or  written  about  it,  constituting 

the   rich   and   varied   literature   of   Pali 

Buddhism,  are  to  be  found  in  the  original,  in  whole 

or  part,  in  many  Laos  monasteries,  but  few  monks 


34  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

understand  them.  They  have  also  been  rather 
freely  rendered  into  Laos.  The  Buddhist  canon  is 
not  closed  as  is  the  canon  of  our  Scriptures ;  on  the 
contrary,  new  "  scriptures  "  in  the  vernacular  are 
still  being  prepared.  They  are  modeled  on  the  old, 
and  draw  largely  from  them,  but  they  often  intro- 
duce material  entirely  unknown  to  Buddhism  a 
generation  ago.  For  instance,  an  American  mis- 
sionary found  in  a  monastery  in  Chieng  Mai,  a 
"  thum "  (sacred  book)  into  which  had  been 
woven  the  story  of  the  creation,  the  fall,  the  flood, 
much  as  they  are  found  in  Genesis,  which  had  then 
been  recently  translated  into  Laos.  The  monks 
-  and  abbots  seem  to  make  little  dis- 

•y  ,        tinction,  as  to  authority,  between  the 

Vernacular       ,,         '      .  ^  \,  , 

T  .^      ^  old    and    the    new.     Both    are    read 

Literature        .  ,        ^  •      a         -^ »  x       ^i 

either    to    gain       merit,      or    for    the 

stories  they  contain,  rather  than  for  their  moral 
or  doctrinal  teaching.  A  considerable  literature 
modeled  thus  on  Buddhist  texts  has  grown  up. 
Folklore  tales,  plays,  poems,  conundrums — some 
original,  some  derived  from  India — are  found  in 
these  books,  and  are  told  and  retold  among  the 
people.  Books  of  proverbs,  such  as  the  "  Grand- 
father Teaches  His  Grandchildren,'*  are  deservedly 
popular,  singularly  free  from  anything  objection- 
able, and  well  worth  translation  into  English. 
,  Although  a  third  of  the  men  can  read, 

^.  ,         and  crowds  gather  at  the  monasteries 

to     listen     to     the     reading     of     the 
"  thums "   or   sacred   books   on    Buddhist   festival 


The  Yellow  Robe  35 

days,  the  Laos  are  not  a  reading  people.  They 
would  rather  listen  to  a  story-teller  than  read  for 
themselves.  Minstrels  gifted  with  facility  in  ex- 
tempore verse  are  in  demand  on  all  festal  occasions. 
To  the  accompaniment  of  a  rude  violin,  or  of  a 
considerable  orchestra,  they  sing  the  praises  of 
host  and  guests,  whose  applause  and  largesse  they 
constantly  win.  This  gift  of  minstrelsy  belongs 
rather  to  the  original  character  of  the  Laos,  than 
to  anything  that  has  come  to  them  from  without, 
but  it  has  grown  and  developed  with  the  intel- 
lectual development  of  the  people. 
----       _  Thus    the    educational    influence    of 

"R  HHVi'  7  Buddhism  upon  the  Laos  has  been 
great  and  beneficent.  But  what 'shall 
we  say  of  Buddhism  as  a  philosophy,  a  moral  and 
religious  system?  This  question  is  more  difficult 
to  answer.  Sakya  Muni,  the  Buddha  (or  "  enlight- 
ened one"),  was  first  of  all  a  philosopher  who 
sought  the  cause  and  cure  of  evil.  His  answer  to 
the  great  problem  of  the  world  is  found  in  his  sys- 
tem of  asceticism  which  aims  to  extinguish  both 
.  desire  and  regret,  both  joy  and  sor- 

.  ,    .    .  row,  and  ultimately  to  lose  personal 

p,  ..         ,  existence  in  Nirvana.     It  denies  the 

existence  of  the  soul,  and  teaches 
nothing  of  God.  Arising  out  of  a  protest  against 
the  polytheism  of  India,  it  was  accused  of  atheism, 
and  this  accusation  can  hardly  be  denied.  Al- 
though Buddhism  does  not  actually  deny  the  exist- 
ence of  God,  or  of  gods,  it  ignores  them,  it  does  not 


36  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

worship    them.     It    is    practically    atheism.     The 

Buddha  was  but  a  man  and  has  ceased  to  be;  so 

their  own  books  say.     The  Buddhist  is  not  taught 

to  lift  the  soul  to  anything  above  man  himself. 

„  The  idea  of  birth  and  death  and  rebirth, 

Karma  ... 

,  sometimes  as  an  animal,  again  as  man  or 

^  .  .  ,  angel,  seems  strange  to  a  western  mind, 
but  had  and  has  great  hold  on  the 
thought  of  India.  While  transmigration  seems  ut- 
terly at  variance  with  his  denial  of  personality  and 
of  soul,  Sakya  Muni  accepted  it  in  a  modified  form, 
the  doctrine  of  "  Karma."  Few  even  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Buddha  understand,  or  pretend  to 
understand,  his  meaning.  The  idea  commonly  cur- 
rent among  them  is  akin  rather  to  the  cruder  ideas 
of  transmigration  current  in  India.  I  shall  there- 
fore not  attempt  to  explain  "  Karma,"  but  only 
refer  to  literature  on  that  subject.^    In  some  form, 

*  According  to  Buddhist  psychology  there  is  no  personal 
soul,  but  only  a  union  of  qualities  which  are  in  a  constant 
state  of  change.  To  use  an  illustration:  no  single  kind  of 
building  material  constitutes  a  house,  nor  all  of  them  merely 
gathered  together.  They  may  form  a  house,  but  it  is  nothing 
apart  from  them  and  when  they  are  taken  away  there  is  no 
house  left.  In  like  manner  the  union  of  qualities  constitutes 
the  individual,  but  when  they  are  dissolved  there  is  nothing 
left.  The  way  in  which  they  have  interacted  during  life, 
however,  creates  "Karma,"  merit  or  desert  In  accordance 
with  this  a  new  individual  is  formed  after  death  by  a  re- 
grouping of  the  qualities.  This  new  individual  has  not  the 
same  personality  as  the  old,  for  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
personality;  but  his  condition  depends  on  the  Karma  or  merit 
of  the  former  individual. — Ed. 


The  Yellow  Robe  37 

belief  in  transmigration  has  firm  hold  on  the  minds 
of  the  Laos  people. 

^     .  That  every  good  deed  has  for  its  object 

■R/r  i_-  to  gain  merit  for  the  doer,  is  the  firm 

^  conviction  of  every  Buddhist.  Real  al- 
truism, action  prompted  by  love  for  one's  fellow 
rather  than  by  ultimate  gain  to  one's  self,  is  not 
expected  outside  the  family  circle,  nor  is  it  under- 
stood. If  a  man  gives  alms,  he  does  it  to  accumu- 
late merit  that  shall  ultimately  outweigh  his  de- 
merit, and  promote  his  own  happiness  hereafter. 
If  he  builds  a  monastery,  or  makes  gifts  to  the 
"  order,"  or  places  a  jar  of  water  by  the  roadside 
that  the  weary  traveler  may  drink,  he  makes  merit 
thereby.  To  place  a  son,  a  grandson  or  some  other 
lad  in  the  monastery  and  support  him  there,  to 
make  the  customary  offerings  and  meet  the  other 
expenses  involved  in  his  entrance  into  the  "  order," 
is  a  common  form  of  "  merit-making." 
P  -  The  gala  days  of  the  year  are  those  on 
^  which    the    people    of    a    village    unite    to 

^  "  make  merit "  by  offerings  at  the  common 
sanctuary.  These  "  merit-makings  "  are  the  occa- 
sion of  no  little  rivalry  in  display  and  taste,  not 
merely  in  the  number  and  beauty  of  the  offerings, 
but  in  the  design  and  construction  of  the  "  sadees," 
or  miniature  temples  and  palaces  in  which  the  gifts 
are  carried  to  the  temples.  Rivalry  and  the  desire 
for  display,  rather  than  any  religious  motive,  is 
behind  many  of  the  gifts.  Yet  the  aged  especially, 
realizing   that   their   time   for   "  merit-making "    is 


38  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

limited,  and  knowing  no  other  way  to  win  favor  in 

the  unknown  land  from  which  no  traveler  returns, 

often  make  sacrifices  that  are  pathetic. 

^    ^  ^  The  "  Ten   Precepts  "  of  Sakya 

^  -        ,       Muni  have  often  been  compared 

Commandments        .  ,    ^y,    ^      r-  ^      \      c 

r  T3    J  J,  with  the  Ten  Commandments  or 

Moses.  Like  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, the  "  Ten  Precepts  "  are  divided  into  two 
tables,  of  which  this  is  the  first: 

Do  not  take  life  whether  of  man  or  beast. 

Do  not  take  what  is  not  given. 

Abstain  from  unlawful  sexual  intercourse. 

Do  not  lie. 

Do  not  drink  wine  or  strong  drink. 

These  correspond  somewhat  closely  to  the  sec- 
ond half  of  the  decalogue,  and  are  recognized  as 
binding  on  the  laity  as  well  as  on  the  monks. 

The  first  half  of  the  decalogue  of  Moses  has  to 
do  with  our  duties  to  God,  and  finds  no  parallel 
whatever  in  the  "  Ten  Precepts,"  the  second  half 
of  which  is  as  follows : 

Do  not  eat  at  forbidden  times. 

Abstain  from  dancing,  singing,  music  and  stage  plays. 

Use  not  a  high  or  broad  bed. 

Take  not  pleasure  in  garlands,  scents  or  ornaments. 

Receive  not  silver  or  gold. 

It  is  evident  that  these  latter  precepts  apply  only 
to  the  monks,  bidding  them  carry  out  the  monastic 
ideas  of  Sakya  Muni.  The  casual  visitor  at  the 
"  wats "  will  soon  discover  that  little  real  effort 
is  made  to  obey  them. 


The  Yellow  Robe  39 

How  is  it  with  the  first  half  of  the  "  Precepts''? 
While  offenses  and  evasions  constantly  occur, 
(ofifenses  against  the  precepts  occur  in  the  monas- 
teries, as  well  as  outside),  yet  dishonesty,  drunken- 
ness and  impurity  are  certainly  less  rife  among  the 
Laos  than  in  other  parts  of  Asia.  The  scandals  so 
commonly  connected  with  Buddhist  temples  in 
China,  Korea  and  Japan,  and  so  inseparable  from 
Brahman  worship  in  India,  are  practically  unknown 
in  Laos  temples. 

"R  riHTi  '         ^^^   precept  demands   especial   men- 
P  tion,  the  first  and  great  command  of 

p  ,      the     Buddha,     "  Do     not     take     life 

whether  of  man  or  beast."  The  more 
conscientious  monks  strain  all  the  water  they 
drink;  they  go  so  far  as  to  step  aside  from  the 
path  rather  than  crush  an  ant  or  worm.  Even  the 
common  people  count  the  fisherman  or  hunter  a 
constant  offender  against  Buddhist  law.  The 
fisherman  feels  that  he  evades  the  law  if  he  allows 
the  fish  he  has  caught  to  die  of  itself,  as  It  soon 
will.  The  priests  themselves  constantly  eat  the 
flesh  of  animals  some  one  else  has  killed.  So  long 
as  he  does  not  actually  take  life,  the  Laos  man 
counts  cruelty  'to  animals  no  offense  against  this 
law.  He  may  maim  or  torture  them,  or  look  on 
suffering  with  seeming  utter  indifference.  A  law 
intended  to  develop  pity  has  worked  rather  the 
other  way.  He  considers  it  impossible  to  keep  the 
law,  for  there,  as  everywhere,  man  craves  flesh 
food.  However,  the  fact  that  Christianity  specific- 
ally sanctions  the  use  of  flesh  as  food,  thus   re- 


40  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

leasing  him  from  bondage  to  a  law  he  cannot  keep, 

appeals  to  the  common  sense  of  every  Laos  man 

as  an  argument  for  Christianity.     So  does  also  the 

statement  of  Scripture  that  man,  unlike  the  beast, 

is  made  in  the  image  of  God. 

_,  It  is  not  unfair  to  say  that  Buddhism 

-,      .     .         is  not  in  the  deeper  sense  a  religion. 
Messianic      .      .        ...  "^  ..      ^        ^-  r^u 

_-.  -         It  gives  little  or  nothing  to  satisfy  the 

^    , ,,  .  real    cravino^s    of    the    human    heart. 

Buddhism      ^        ,..         ,  -^    j 

One    thing,    however,    it    does    give 

which  ought  not  to  be  omitted  in  any  statement  of 
Laos  Buddhism:  When  the  older  men  and  women 
go  to  the  temples  on  the  Buddhist  sacred  days  they 
are  wont  to  pray  that  their  life  may  be  prolonged 
until  they  shall  "  see  the  face  of  him  that  is  to 
come."  They  say  that  the  Buddha  told  his  fol- 
lowers that  he,  himself,  was  not  a  saviour,  but  that 
in  the  future  there  will  come  another  "  enlight- 
ened one,"  who  shall  save  all  that  shall  behold  his 
face.  I  am  told  that  this  vivid  sense  of  a  messiah 
that  is  to  come  is  not  found  among  the  Burmese 
and  other  Buddhists.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  im- 
pression made  by  this  hope  upon  the  Laos  gives  to 
the  messenger  of  Christ  an  opportunity  much  used 
by  our  evangelists,  to  present  to  them  Jesus  as  the 
one  who  fulfills  the  hope  of  all  nations. 
_,       .  The  architecture  of  the  Laos  may  be 

.     _  mainly     borrowed     from     India     and 

_        ,  Burma,  and  its  art  as  displayed  in  the 

Temples       .  j     •  ^         •     v    4.        i 

images  and  pictures  in  its  temples  may 

be  somewhat  crude,  yet  the  fact  remains  that  Bud- 


The  Yellow  Robe  41 

dhism  brought  these  arts  to  the  Laos  and  that  the 
boys  in  the  temple  schools  learn  not  merely  to  read, 
but  to  saw  lumber,  to  make  brick  and  mortar,  to 
build  with  brick  as  well  as  wood,  to  manufacture 
the  umbrellas,  the  fans  and  many  other  articles 
they  constantly  use.  We  have  seen  reason  to  at- 
tribute to  earlier  causes  rather  than  to  Buddhism 
_,  n  Kf  ^^^  comparatively  high  moral  stand- 
.    ,  ards  of  the  Laos,  and  that  religion  did 

little  to  develop  the  spiritual  side  of 
^       ,.  mans   nature;   but,   even   so,   it   still 

would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the 
importance  of  Buddhism  in  the  life  of  the  people. 
Much  that  is  best  in  their  language  and  literature, 
the  very  characters  in  which  it  is  written,  they  owe 
to  Buddhism;  much  of  their  knowledge  of  the  arts 
and  of  civilization  came  to  them  with  the  Yellow 
Robe.  Buddhism^  found  the  Laos,  as  Christianity 
found  our  ancestors  about  the  same  time,  little 
above  the  status  of  the  savage ;  it  has  made  educa- 
tion honorable  and  strengthened  and  conserved  the 
moral  standards  it  found  already  among  them. 
When  we  compare  it  with  the  other  religions  of 
Asia,  even  with  so-called  Christianity  as  we  find  it 
in  South  America,  in  Mexico  and  in  the  Philippines, 
we  must  concede  that  Buddhism  has  given  much 
that  is  good,  little  that  is  evil  to  the  Laos. 


CHAPTER    IV 

DEMON"   WORSHIP   AND   WITCHCRAFT 

-,,     J  In  the  crowded  harbor  and  waterways 

r>     f  of  Bangkok,  the  traveler  watches  with 

curiosity  the  Laos  boats  and  boatmen. 
The  craft  are  ill  adapted  to  deep-water  navigation ; 
the  navigators  are  out  of  their  element  on  the  sea. 
But  see  them  rather  in  the  roaring  rapids  of  the 
Me  Ping,  down  which,  under  their  steady  hands 
and  eyes  the  boats  dash  safely,  yet  almost  at  railway 
speed.  In  August,  1908,  the  writer  raced  down 
«    p.         these  thirty-two  rapids,  a  distance  of  at 

^     .,    ^     least  eighty  miles,  in  seven  hours.     He 
Rapids        ,         1/0,0       ,;r.. 

has  snot  the  bault  bte.  Mane  m  an  In- 
dian canoe,  and  found  it  hardly  more  thrilling,  and 
while  the  passage  of  the  Sault  is  over  in  five  min- 
utes, the  rapids  of  the  Me  Ping  continue  with 
brief  intervals  of  more  quiet  water  for  a  whole  day. 
The  beetling  clilffs,  the  swirling  waters,  the  erect, 
alert  boat  captain,  grasping  with  firm  hand  the 
giant  steering  oar,  giving  at  just  the  right  moment 
a  few  powerful  strokes — it  is  a  picture  one  can 
never  forget.  The  writer  is  proud  to  call  some  of 
these  boatmen  his  friends,  men  of  splendid  phy- 
sique, accustomed  to  meet  and  overcome  danger  in 
many  forms. 

42 


Demon  Worship  and  Witchcraft  43 

River  ^^^  ^^^  '^^^y  ^a^gers  that  surround 

Superstitions  ^"""^  *^^  ^'"^  ^^^'-^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^Pi^^ 
of  the  Me  Ping  are  the  abode  of 
spirits  that  lie  in  wait  for  the  unwary,  make  the 
Laos  boatmen,  like  the  deep-sea  fishermen  of 
Labrador,  exceedingly  superstitious.  For  in- 
stance: we  are  started  for  the  long  trip  of  seven 
hundred  miles  to  Bangkok.  We  tie  up  for  the 
night  at  a  village  where  some  of  the  boatmen 
live. 

The  next  morning  breakfast  time  passes  and  there 
are  no  signs  of  departure.  "  What  is  the  trouble, 
captain?"  "Two  of  the  men  have  gone  to  have 
their  grandfather  tie  their  wrists,"  is  the  answer. 
Later  in  the  day  two  hours  more  are  spent  at  an- 
other village  that  another  boatman  may  be 
similarly  protected  from  the  dangers  that  await  us. 
At  the  head  and  again  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids, 
the  boatmen  stop  to  make  offerings  to  the 
spirits. 

Spirit  '^^^  ^"^^  *^^  boatmen,  but  the  whole 

Worship  ^^^^  ^"^  *^^  whole  people,  are  full  to 
overflowing  with  customs  and  practices 
prompted  by  belief  in  unseen  powers  constantly 
ready  to  work  them  harm.  As  we  travel  by  land, 
we  often  come  to  rude  shrines  where  travelers  offer 
flowers  and  food  to  the  unseen  powers.  At  night, 
as  we  camp  in  the  forest,  some  of  the  men  probably 
make  such  an  offering  before  they  taste  their  even- 
ing meal.  Before  they  plant  their  rice,  the 
villagers  unite  in  offering  chickens,  or  a  pig,  to  the 


44  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

spirits  of  the  fields.  Some  especially  curious 
superstitions  gather  about  the  building  of  the 
house.  No  Laos  man,  not  a  Christian,  would  ven- 
ture to  take  parts  of  two  houses  to  build  one,  nor 
to  use  in  any  way  the  charred  posts  or  beams  of  a 
house  that  has  been  injured  by  fire.  Lucky  days 
and  hours  must  be  chosen  for  any  important  under- 
taking. When  sickness  and  death  come,  more 
sinister  forms  of  the  spirit  superstition  are  sure  to 
multiply.  The  new-born  babe  is  laid  across  the 
head  of  the  steps  with  an  adjuration  to  the  demons 
that,  if  the  babe  be  the  child  of  the  spirits,  the 
spirit  will  take  it  now;  if  not,  that  it  be  left  forever 
alone.  About  the  last  rites  for  the  dead  and  the 
place  of  burial  superstition  again  gathers.  From 
childhood  to  old  age  the  fear  of  evil  spirits  is  ever 
present,  a  bondage  all  feel  and  would  shake  off  if 
they  could. 

_     .  The  Laos  people  recognize  the  existence 

^,  .  .^  of  benign  spirits  who  have  an  influence 
over  their  destinies.  One  old  lady,  whom 
it  was  a  pleasure  to  visit,  repeated  to  me  a  prayer 
not  unlike  the  "  Now  I  lay  me  "  of  our  childhood 
days,  with  which  each  evening  she  committed  her- 
self to  the  care  of  these  good  spirits.  But  such 
worship  of  good  spirits  is  unusual;  spirit  worship 
as  we  usually  find  it  is  directed  to  the  evil  spirits, 
and  prompted  wholly  by  fear.  It  is  difficult  to  get 
at  the  real  thought  of  the  people,  for  they  recognize 
that  such  worship  is  evil  and  are  ashamed  of  it 
while  they  cling  to  it. 


Demon  Worship  and  Witchcraft  45 

Buddhism,  the  nominal  rehgion  of  the 
Buddhism  ^^^^^  absolutely  forbids  any  worship 
a^d  Spirit      ^^   ^^^    ^^.j   ^p.^-^g^     ..  y^^^^   ^^^   ^^^ 

Wors  ip  spirits  great ;  he  who  makes  the  spirits 
great,  whether  by  tying  the  wrist,  or  wearing 
charms,  or  tattooing  charms,  by  feeding  the  spirits 
or  making  offerings  to  them,  that  man  is  outside 
the  religion  of  Gautama.'*  These  are  quoted  as  the 
words  of  the  Buddha  himself.  Yet  all  the  Laos 
people  worship  the  spirits,  and  the  Buddhist  monks 
themselves  are  very  often  the  leaders  in  this  wor- 
ship. 

How  shall  we  explain  this  total  disregard  of  Bud- 
dha's express  command?  Why  has  Buddhism 
failed  to  drive  out  the  demon  worship  that  here,  as 
all  over  Asia,  preceded  it? 

First.    Because  spirit  worship  has  al- 

na  e  o  ^.^ys  entered  more  deeply  into  the 
Supplant  it.    j.^^  ^^^  ^^^j  ^^  ^^^  L^^g  p^^pj^  ^^^^ 

^*  Buddhism.     Their  sense  of  the  pres- 

ence and  influence  of  the  unseen  has  only  been 
dulled,  never  removed,  by  Buddhist  teachings. 
Though  the  Laos  seek  merit  by  listening  to  the 
Buddhist  scriptures,  and  repeating  its  formulae  of 
devotion;  though  the  men  are  educated  in  Bud- 
dhist monasteries,  and  the  women  seek  favor  by 
supporting  a  son  or  grandson  in  the  priesthood; 
though  the  whole  social  life  of  the  people  centers 
in  the  Buddhist  "  wat "  or  monastery;  still  spirit 
worship  is  to-day,  as  it  ever  has  been,  the  real 
religion  of  the  Laos  people. 


46  An  Oriental  Land  o£  the  Free 

-T    -r.  ^       Second.    Because,  while  the  Buddha 

No  Power  to  ^i    ^  ^i,  .•       r      -i 

^  y  saw  that  the  worship  of  evil  spirits 

was  wrong  and  useless,  while  he 
himself  may  have  broken  with  it  wholly,  he  gave 
to  his  followers  no  refuge  or  strength  that  could 
deliver  them  from  the  fear  of  the  unseen.  Ask  a 
Laos  man  why  he  worships  the  spirits,  and  if  he 
answers  at  all,  he  will  say  it  is  because  he  dare  not 
omit  it.  As  the  spirits  said  to  the  sons  of  Sceva, 
as  recorded  in  the  book  of  Acts,  "  Jesus  I  know,  and 
Paul  I  know;  but  who  are  ye?"  So  demon 
worship  in  Asia  has  in  effect  said  to  Buddhism, 
"Who  are  ye?" 

Buddhism  has  in  it  no  power  to  deliver  its  fol- 
lowers from  the  spirits.  It  has  practically  sur- 
rendered to  the  demons  all  they  claim.  The  Bud- 
dhist monasteries  are  to-day,  at  least  in  many  cases, 
the  centers  of  the  demon  worship,  and  the  bondage 
of  the  people  to  fear  continues  to-day  as  before 
the  "  Yellow  Robe  "  came  to  them. 
p,    .  Demon  worship  in  itself  is  always  and 

J  ^-u         everywhere  a  thing  to  be  pitied  and  de- 
and  the         ,     -^ ,      ^^      -     -         ,     • 
y.  plored.     Yet  in  its  relation  to  the  work 

of  the  Christian  missionary,  even  demon 

worship  may  be  a  schoolmaster  to  lead  to  Christ, 

for  it  has  served  to  keep  alive  in  the  minds  and 

hearts  of  the  Laos  people  a  sense  of  the  unseen,  a 

realization    that    man    is    dependent    on    spiritual 

powers  outside  himself  for  safety,  for  help,  for  his 

very  being.     I  doubt  whether  it  can  be  said  that 

the  Laos  people  worship  or  distinctly  recognize  a 


Demon  Worship  and  Witchcraft  47 

supreme  being.  The  names  of  Phya  Phom  and 
Phya  In  (Brahm  and  Indra  of  Indian  mythology) 
are  often  on  their  lips  in  folklore  tales  derived  from 
India,  but  I  do  not  think  either  is  recognized  as 
supreme,  nor  are  prayers  or  worship  directed  to 
them  so  far  as  I  am  aware.  Still,  there  is  every- 
where prevalent  a  sense  of  dependence  on  unseen 
spiritual  powers,  wholly  foreign  to  the  self-depend- 
ence, the  atheism,  of  Buddhism, 
p,    .  No  stories  from  the   Bible  so  readily 

_  .,  hold  the  attention  of  a  Laos  audience 

as  those  of  the  creation  and  of  the 
power  of  Christ  over  the  demons.  A  God  who 
created  all  and  has  power  to  deliver  from  evil 
spirits,  meets  the  need  and  longing  of  their  hearts. 
Many  of  our  Christian  people  have  thus  been  first 
drawn  to  Christ.  While  they  continue  to  believe 
that  evil  spirits  are  about  them  on  every  hand,  they 
believe  that  Jesus  has  delivered  them  from  their 
power,  and  that  in  his  name  they  can  defy  and 
cast  them  out.  Even  of  those  who  have  not  ac- 
cepted Christ,  multitudes  recognize  that  over 
those  who  have  accepted  him,  the  demons  have  no 
power. 

p  .  Kindred  with  the  spirit  worship    is  the 

,  universal   belief   in   witchcraft.     An   ac- 

T-»  ^      count  of  the  first  case  that  came  under 

Peasant       ,  .      ,  ,  .  .,,     , 

the  writer  s  own  observation  will  show 

better  than  any  description  the  power  and  bearing 

of  this  delusion. 

Nan  Teo  was  a  well-to-do  Laos  farmer  in  a  vil- 


48  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

lage  twenty  miles  from  the  city  of  Nan.  He  had 
a  good  rice  field,  buffaloes  (used  in  plowing),  sev- 
eral cattle,  and  a  well-built  house.  A  petty  prince 
or  "  chow,"  who  lived  near  him,  wanted  his  field, 
but  Nan  Teo  refused  to  sell.  Nominally,  a  "  man 
of  the  people  "  has  just  the  same  rights  before  the 
law  as  a  hereditary  prince;  practically,  a  man  who 
opposes  a  "  chow "  has  little  chance  of  success. 
We  shall  see  that  Nan  Teo  found  this  out  to  his 
cost. 

r^.  Not  long  after  after  Nan  Teo's  refusal 

«   .  .  to    sell,    a    man    in    his    village    became 

^  seriously   ill.     The   spirit  doctor  was,   of 

course,  consulted,  and  he  declared  at  once 
that  the  spirits  of  some  one  were  making  all  the 
trouble.  He  proceeded  to  stick  pins  into  the  body 
of  the  sick  man  who  was  already  delirious,  and  to 
scarify  his  flesh  with  a  tiger's  tooth,  so  that  his 
delirious  cries,  commonly  believed  to  be  the  cries 
of  the  spirit  that  possessed  him,  might  reveal  the 
identity  of  the  witch.  The  witch  doctor  soon  in- 
terpreted these  incoherent  cries  as  an  accusation 
against  Nan  Teo's  wife  and  mother. 

^,  So     deep-rooted     is     the     witchcraft 

The  .  :      .      ,        .    ,      .    ,     ^ 

.  ,.         superstition  in  the  minds  of  the  Laos 

Accusation        ^  ,      ^x    ^    ^u        w  r. 

people  that  the  victim  often  ac- 
quiesces in  the  penalty  inflicted,  believing  that  even 
unconsciously  he  is  responsible  in  some  way  for 
the  illness  or  death  of  the  patient.  In  this  case 
Nan  Teo's  wife  and  mother  indignantly  denied  the 
accusation,  believing,  as  they  afterwards  told  me. 


Demon  Worship  and  Witchcraft  49 

that  the  witch  doctor  was  in  the  pay  of  the  "  chow  " 
who  wanted  to  buy  their  field. 

_,-      p       .  In  some  way,  evidence  satisfactory 

^  to  the  minds  of  the  superstitious 
village  elders  was  obtained,  and  they  insisted  that 
the  accused  were  guilty.  The  whole  family  was 
ordered  to  leave  the  village.  They  demurred  and 
delayed,  hoping  at  least  to  get  a  fair  price  for  their 
belongings.  An  offer  made  for  their  cattle  was  far 
below  what  they  were  worth,  and  they  refused  it. 
That  night  one  of  the  cattle  was  ruined  by  a  sword 
cut.  The  next  day  they  agreed  to  sell,  and  the 
"  chow "  promised  to  pay  them  about  half  what 
their  field  was  worth.  As  yet,  no  money  had  been 
paid  in  either  case,  but  the  limit  of  time  set  for 
them  to  leave  the  village  had  come.  In  the  night 
while  they  were  asleep,  some  one  set  fire  to  their 
house  and  they  escaped  with  only  the  clothes  on 
their  backs  and  what  they  could  carry  in  their 
hands. 

p..  ,  The  next  night    the  missionary  found 

f*  the  whole  family  of  five  shivering  over 

^  .  a  scanty  fire  at  a  "  rest  house  "  near  his 
own  door,  and  not  far  from  the  city  of 
Nan.  They  had  neither  food,  nor  blankets,  nor 
money.  Bit  by  bit  he  drew  from  them  their  piti- 
ful story,  and  with  the  cooperation  of  the  native 
Christians  relieved  their  immediate  necessities. 
He  gave  them  a  place  to  stay  and  work  so  that 
they  could  maintain  themselves,  and  a  promise  to 
help  them  collect  the  money  due  them.     I  left  not 


50  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

long  afterwards,  and  I  do  not   know  whether  they 

succeeded  in  collecting  the  price  of  their  field  and 

cattle.     I  doubt  whether  they  did,  unless  through 

the  influence  of  the  foreigner. 

-,  .  The  members  of  this  family  were  intel- 
Results     ,.  ,  .    ,        .  ,         , 

hgent  and  mdustrious,  and  so  far  as  we 

could  ascertain,  had  never  before  had  any  trouble 
with  their  neighbors.  Yet  in  a  week's  time,  by 
working  on  the  superstitions  of  the  villagers,  the 
**  chow "  had  deprived  them  of  home  and  farm 
and  all  that  they  had,  and  turned  them  out,  house- 
less and  penniless  wanderers.  Such  accusations 
are  less  frequent  and  less  effectual  now  than  in  the 
past,  but  in  a  dozen  years  in  Laos  land  I  have 
known  personally  of  many  cases.  Sometimes  the 
accusations  are  directed  against  those  who  have 
made  themselves  obnoxious  to  the  village;  some- 
times, as  in  the  case  cited,  personal  jealousy,  covet- 
ousness  or  spite  seems  at  work.  Sometimes,  at 
least,  all  parties  concerned  really  believe  the  ac- 
cused are  possessed  by,  or  in  league  with,  evil 
spirits. 

The  writer  has  never  seen  a  case  of  "  spirit  pos- 
session "  that  seemed  to  him  real ;  other  intelligent 
observers  recognize  the  reality  of  it,  at  least  in 
some  cases.  Yet,  to  argue  against  spirit  posses- 
sion with  a  Laos  man  or  woman  would  be  a  waste 
of  breath. 
<<  «  .  .         The  "  spirit  people,"  that  is  those  who 

-,  ,  „  have  been  driven  away  from  their  own 
People  ...  ,  ,  ^     .  r      .    1 

villages   through   accusations   of  witch- 


Demon  Worship  and  Witchcraft  51 

craft,  do  not  readily  find  a  home  in  other  villages, 
or  even  in  the  distant  parts  of  the  province.  Their 
reputation  is  almost  sure  to  go  with  them  or  fol- 
low them.  Out  in  the  mountains  or  forests,  away 
from  villages,  there  are  whole  villages  of  these 
"  spirit  people,"  where  they  have  begun  life  anew, 
hoping  to  be  free  from  persecution.  As  a  whole, 
the  people  of  such  a  village  are  apt  to  be  below  the 
average  in  intelligence  and  thrift,  but  discourage- 
ment and  adverse  circumstances  account  for  this 
in  part.  Not  a  few  of  our  most  active  and  self- 
helpful  Christian  families  have  come  from  those 
who,  at  some  time,  were  accused  of  witchcraft. 
_,  Where    the    missionary    or    native 

^_.     .  ,       Christians  have  been  able  to  show 

Missionary  s      ...  ^     ^^  1 

^         .      ..         kmdness  to  these   accused   persons 

^  in  the  time  of  their  distress,  they 
have  often  shown  the  deepest  gratitude  and  have 
readily  accepted  the  invitation  to  attend  Christian 
services  and  read  Christian  books.  Gradually  the 
conviction  that  Christ  is  more  powerful  than  the 
demons,  that  Christians  need  not  and  do  not  fear 
them,  has  gained  currency  among  the  people,  non- 
Christian  as  well  as  Christian.  They  see,  too,  that 
"  spirit  people "  who  have  become  Christians  are 
no  longer  a  danger  to  their  neighbors.  It  has, 
therefore,  become  rather  common  for  a  family  ac- 
cused or  suspected  of  witchcraft  to  invite  the  elders 
or  leaders  of  the  nearest  group  of  Christians  to 
come  and  hold  service  in  their  house,  and  to  tear 
down    at   the    same    time   the    charms    and    spirit 


52  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

shrines  that  are  a  mark  of  all  non-Christian  homes. 
By  this  act  they  declare  to  all  the  village  that  they 
are  Christians.  Often,  though  not  always,  there  is 
an  end  of  accusation  and  suspicion.  We  accept 
such  people  as  catechumens,  but  are  slow  to  receive 
them  to  full  membership  in  our  churches,  until  a 
consistent  Christian  life  for  at  least  a  year  testifies 
to  the  reality  of  the  change  in  allegiance. 
_-  Gradually  the  power  of  the  witchcraft 

^     ,     ,       superstition  is  being-  broken.     The  mani- 

Outlook        r    ^  A         (  '^  U      A      '       ' 

test  use  made  of  it  by  designmg  men  to 
promote  their  ends,  as  in  the  case  of  Nan  Teo,  has 
weakened  its  hold  upon  the  more  intelligent  of  the 
people.  Progress  in  intelligence  and  education 
works  against  it;  the  spread  of  Christianity  has 
weakened  its  hold  on  all  who  recognize  Christ's 
power,  whether  they  personally  accept  him  or  not. 
Yet  the  belief  of  most  earnest  Christian  workers  in 
spirit  possession  among  those  who  have  not  taken 
"  refuge  with  Christ,"  still  continues.  In  these 
and  in  other  forms,  belief  in  spirits  and  worship 
of  them  continues  to  be  the  real  religion  of  the 
Laos  people. 


CHAPTER   V 

ARTS   AND    INDUSTRIES 

_-  Silk  and  cotton  fabrics  as  delicately  fine, 

.  silver  and  gold  as  intricately  wrought, 

^        ^       ivory  as  beautifully  carved  as  the  marts 

of    India   afford,    are   not    to    be   found 

among  the  Laos.     Their  lacquer  is  less  beautifully 

finished,  and   their  pottery  is   rude,   as   compared 

with  the  products  of  Japan  and   China.     But  the 

average  Laos  man  lives  in  a  better  house  and  is 

more  cleanly  and  better  clothed  and  fed,  than  the 

average  man  on  the  plains  of  India.     He  is  not 

only  skillful  in  the  use  of  his  own  tools,  but  ready 

to  devise  or  adopt  new  tools,  new  expedients,  new 

methods. 

TT  As  in  the  homes  of  our  grandfathers 

T    ,     ^  .  in  pioneer  days,  many  a  Laos  home 

Industries  ^  /  \     -/  r      ,    ,    ^ 

produces,  not  only  its  own  food,  but 

its  own  clothing.  It  depends  also  on  the  labor  of 
members  of  the  household  for  building  material  of 
every  sort,  even  for  most  of  its  tools  and  utensils. 
In  cities  and  large  villages  many  foreign  goods  are 
sold,  but  in  the  more  remote  villages  many  a  house- 
hold is  clad  in  the  product  of  its  own  cotton  field 
and  loom,  eats  little  it  does  not  raise  or  gather  in 
the   forest,  uses   few  tools   or  utensils   not   made 

53 


54  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

under  its  own  roof,  and  thus  is  dependent  upon  the 
outside  world   for   little   except   salt  and  the  iron 
from  which  their  tools  are  forged  or  cast. 
.J  In  less  isolated  places,  division  of  labor 

^...  has  gone  farther.     Almost  every  villager 

above  the  average  in  intelligence  has 
some  specialty  that  occupies  his  time  when  field  or 
herd  do  not  require  attention.  One  is  skillful  in 
weaving  baskets  or  matting,  another  makes  better 
hats  than  his  neighbors,  a  third  is  a  blacksmith,  a 
fourth  excels  in  silver  and  brass  work.  This 
woman  is  a  skillful  trader  and  invests  her  capital  in 
pepper,  salt,  or  limes,  when  they  are  plenty ;  in  the 
house  opposite  the  women  spend  most  of  their  time 
at  their  looms;  others  give  time  and  strength  to 
gardens  of  peppers,  cotton,  onions  and  tobacco. 
Weaving  and  the  other  processes  that  intervene 
between  cotton  boll  or  silkworm  cocoon  and  the 
finished  garment,  have  ever  been  looked  on  as 
peculiarly  woman's  work.  Nowhere  are  to  be 
found  cotton  goods  of  firmer  texture,  or  with  colors 
more  cunningly  blended,  than  on  the  looms  of  a 
Laos  household.  Beautiful  silks  are  also  woven, 
especially  in  Nan  province.  Though  flax  is  raised, 
it  is  used  only  for  cordage,  and  in  making  seines 
and  nets. 

,         As  I  watch  the  better  class  of  Laos 
->.  ^     women  in  their  work,  I  am  often  re- 

minded of  Solomon's  description  of  a 
worthy  woman  in  the  last  chapter  of  Proverbs: 
"  She  seeketh  wool  and  flax,  and  worketh  willingly 


Arts  and  Industries  55 

with  her  hands.  .  .  .  She  layeth  her  hands  to  the 
distaff,  and  her  hands  hold  the  spindle.  .  .  .  She 
maketh  linen  garments  and  selleth  them,  and  de- 
livereth  girdles  unto  the  merchant."  "  She  con- 
sidereth  a  field,  and  buyeth  it;  with  the  fruit  of  her 
hands  she  planteth  a  vineyard.  .  .  .  She  looketh 
well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth  not 
the  bread  of  idleness."  (Part  of  Prov.  31 :  13-27.) 
Evidently  times  and  circumstances  when  these 
words  were  written  were  in  some  respects  not  un- 
like those  of  the  Laos  people  to-day. 

-,  ,  .  ,  Not  all  the  credit  in  textiles,  how- 
Mechanical  •      J        xl-  T-U 

J  .  ever,  is  due  the  women.     Ihe  cotton 

gin,  the  spinning  wheels,  the  reels 
and  the  shuttles,  as  well  as  the  loom  itself,  are 
made  by  the  men.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  too,  that 
the  looms  are  more  substantial  and  more  con- 
venient than  those  in  common  use  in  Burma,  India 
and  China.  The  ingenuity  displayed  in  the  loom 
appears  also  in  the  plow.  We  have  all  seen  pic- 
tures of  the  plows  in  common  use  in  some  parts  of 
Asia,  very  rude  and  inefficient ;  the  Laos  farmer 
uses  a  plow  with  a  well-made  iron  share,  well 
adapted  to  his  needs.  Again,  since  iron  is  costly 
and  cannot  be  used  freely  in  house-building,  many 
houses  are  put  together  with  wooden  pins ;  perhaps 
there  is  not  a  nail  in  the  whole  structure.  To  make 
places  for  these  pins  a  good  auger  is  a  necessity, 
and  Laos  ingenuity  has  devised  one.  With  a  native 
hatchet,  a  large  and  a  small  knife,  chisels  and  planes 
of  his  own  manufacture,  a  saw  and  a  gimlet,  a  Laos 


56  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

carpenter  will  turn  out  cabinetwork  that  would 
puzzle  an  American  master  carpenter  with  a  full 
chest  of  tools.  With  a  bit  of  bamboo,  a  rope  and  a 
few  odd  pieces  of  wood,  he  will  improvise  a  lathe 
that  does  excellent  work.  The  mechanical  skill 
that  enables  him  to  make  good  use  of  his  own  tools, 
makes  him  equally  ready  to  use  better  tools  when 
he  can  get  them.  Laos  artisans  to-day  are  demand- 
ing the  very  best  wood-working  tools,  and  they  are 
willing  to  pay  for  them.  But  what  has  most  im- 
pressed me  as  I  have  worked  with  them  is  their 
readiness  of  resource,  and  mechanical  gift  that,  if 
it  cannot  do  a  thing  in  an  accustomed  way,  will 
devise  some  way  to  reach  the  result. 
_-  Almost  every  Laos  man  can    plan    and 

T,   ., ,.  build  his  own  house  and  fashion  some, 

.  ^     at  least,  of  the  ruder  tools  he  needs  on 

-J,  his  farm  and  in  his  home.    Some  one  in 

every  village  can  boss  the  job  of  sawing 
any  lumber  he  may  need.  With  a  piece  of  hoop 
iron,  a  file,  and  wood  that  is  at  hand,  he  will  make 
the  saw  he  needs.  Better  saws  can  now  be  had  of 
German  make,  and  many  are  sold,  but  much  lum- 
ber is  still  sawed,  and  well  sawed,  with  the  rudest 
tools. 

The  frame  of  a  Laos  house  is  like  the  frame  our 
grandfathers  made,  a  few  heavy  timbers  mortised 
together  instead  of  many  smaller  ones.  The  walls 
are  paneled  like  a  door,  and  are  completed  ready 
to  set  in  place  before  the  "  house-raising  "  begins. 
Posts,  sills,  plates  and  rafters,  the  entire  frame  is 


Arts  and  Industries  57 

carefully  fitted  together,  piece  by  piece,  and  care- 
fully numbered,  bamboo  for  the  floors  and  thatch 
for  the  roofs  are  also  ready,  and  a  pig  and  other  sup- 
plies for  the  feast  as  well.  The  lucky  day  is  deter- 
mined upon,  and  all  the  village  is  invited  to  the 
"  raising."  Work  often  begins  before  it  is  really 
light,  for  it  would  be  ill  luck  if  even  a  post  hole 
were  dug  the  day  before ;  material  may  all  be  ready, 
but  the  actual  work  of  erecting  the  house  must  be 
completed  in  a  day.  Many  hands  make  light  work 
of  the  heaviest  tasks,  and  a  small  house  is  often 
completed  before  noon. 
»,,  The  women  of  the  house  and  of 

TT  ■!-»..  the  neisfhborhood  have  not  been 

House-Raising     ...     .    ^^,  .  ^, 

P  idle   m   the   meantime.      The  pig 

has  been  killed  and  great  quanti- 
ties of  rice,  peppers,  bananas  and  vegetables  pro- 
vided. About  eight  in  the  morning,  and  again  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  the  merry  work  ceases,  and 
all  gather  about  the  tiny  round  tables  with  their 
steaming  loads  of  rice  and  curry.  At  "  house-rais- 
ings," as  on  other  gala  occasions,  the  feast  is  an 
indispensable  part  of  the  ceremonies,  and  if  the 
work  continues  until  night,  feasting  and  merry- 
making, too  often  quickened  by  liberal  use  of  the 
native  rice  whiskey,  may  continue  till  the  wee 
small  hours. 

P      -  Cigarettes,  or  tobacco    to    make    them, 

p,       .         "  meeung,"  or  wild  tea  leaves  and  the 

^    betel  tray,  are  all  passed  around  after 

the  more  substantial  part  of  the  feast  is  over.      A 


58  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

child,  four  or  five  years  old,  imitates  his  elders,  and 
is  found  gravely  lighting  his  cigarette,  or  busily 
chewing  his  "  meeung  "  or  betel  nut.  Betel-chew- 
ing is  not  peculiar  to  Siam,  but  is  a  custom  com- 
mon in  India,  Burma  and  China,  as  well.  A  fresh 
sera  leaf,  a  dab  of  lime  paste,  a  bit  each  of  betel 
nut,  of  tobacco  and  of  an  astringent  bush,  all 
wrapped  in  the  sera  leaf,  form  the  quid,  and  every 
man  as  he  returns  to  work  carries  such  a  quid  very 
evidently  in  one  cheek.  Betel-chewing  tends  to 
blacken  the  teeth  and  stain  the  lips  and  tongue  a 
brick  red.  It  also  tends  to  make  the  gums  recede 
from  the  teeth  till  the  latter  are  loose  and  ready  to 
drop  out  before  old  age  fairly  approaches.  Still  the 
"  chew "  of  betel  is  antiseptic  and  helps  to 
preserve  the  teeth  even  while  it  blackens  them. 
Disgusting  as  the  habit  and  the  results  are  to  us, 
more  can  be  said  in  its  favor  than  appears  at  first 
sight. 

-  Houses  may  be  built  almost  wholly  of 
^  .  bamboo,  but  such  a  house  lasts  at  most 
^  ^  only  a  few  years,  and  more  often  posts 
and  frames  are  of  solid  wood.  Given  a  frame  of 
native  "  mahogany "  that  will  last  a  lifetime,  if 
the  family  prospers  basket  work  gives  place  in  the 
walls  to  teak  or  oil-wood  panels ;  sawed  lumber  re- 
places bamboo  planks  in  the  floor;  and  a  tile  roof 
takes  the  place  of  thatch.  The  transformation  may 
be  gradual,  but  it  is  typical  of  the  change  that  I 
have  watched  over  the  whole  land  the  past  fifteen 
years.    Though  timber  is  more  expensive  and  labor 


Arts  and  Industries  59 

better  paid,  every  year  has  seen  improvement  in 

the  character  of  the  houses  built.    It  has  been  said, 

with  some  truth,  I  think,  that  if  a  Burman    or   a 

Siamese  gets  money  ahead,  it  generally  goes  onto 

his  back  or  into  his  belly;  but  the  Laos  man's  first 

thought  is  a  better  house. 

_        -  The  art  and  architectural  skill  of  the 

.     ,  .      ^  Laos  still  center  where  they  began, 

Architecture      .       .       r^    ^^u'  .  .♦  ^ 

m  the    Buddhist    monasteries    and 

temples.  Only  these  and  city  walls  have  in  the 
past  been  built  of  brick.  Indeed,  I  am  told  that  an 
old  superstition  forbade  the  use  of  brick  in  other 
ways.  If  so,  the  power  of  that  superstition  is  gone; 
public  buildings,  public  stores,  even  dwelling  houses 
are  to-day  being  built  of  brick.  Yet  the  temples 
are  still  the  most  imposing  and  attractive  buildings. 
In  the  city  as  well  as  in  the  village,  sometimes  in 
the  midst  of  a  forest  or  on  top  of  a  commanding  hill, 
their  many-storied,  pagoda-like  roofs  (see  accom- 
panying picture  of  a  temple  in  Chieng  Mai)  attract 
and  hold  the  eye.  This  heavy  roof  does  not  rest 
on  the  brick  walls  alone,  but  on  beautiful  wooden 
columns,  such  as  appear  in  the  temple  interior  on 
the  same  page.  On  these  columns,  as  well  as  on 
the  entrance  doorway,  or  the  whole  front,  a  wealth 
of  decoration  in  carving,  lacquer  and  gold  leaf, 
often  most  effective,  is  laid  with  a  lavish  hand. 
The  pagodas  found  within  the  areas  of  all  import- 
ant temples  are  unlike  the  many-storied  pagodas 
of  China.  Like  many  other  features  of  the  tem- 
ples, they  mark  the  dependence  of  Laos  builders  on 


6o  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Indian  models.  Some  recent  temples  follow  Bur- 
mese models,  but  the  result  is  usually  less  pleasing 
than  the  older  work.  Thousands  of  dollars  are 
spent  each  year  in  gold  leaf  to  cover  afresh  the 
ancient  pagodas  that  mark  places  held  peculiarly 
sacred.  The  great  pagoda  in  Lampoon,  one  of  the 
ancient  capitals,  has  been  twice  completely  re- 
gilded  in  the  ten  years  of  my  residence  there. 
The  increase  in  wealth  and  population  that  has 
accompanied  peace,  has  been  in  no  way  more  dis- 
tinctly marked  than  by  the  increasing  number  and 
beauty  of  the  temples. 

p.  Laos  city  walls  are  often  substantial  and 

^-_  ..  picturesque.  Of  no  avail  against  modern 
artillery,  they  were  a  real  protection 
against  robber  raids  such  as  were  common  scarce 
forty  years  ago.  Built  usually  of  brick  over  earth, 
the  presence  of  laterite  blocks  in  some  of  them,  as 
at  Lampoon,  indicates  that  in  part,  at  least,  those 
walls  go  back  hundreds  of  years.  Stone  masonry, 
now  apparently  a  lost  art  among  the  Laos,  seems 
to  have  been  then  fairly  common.  However,  stone 
well  adapted  to  masonry  is  neither  abundant  nor 
easily  accessible  to  the  cities. 

About  twenty  walled  cities  still  exist  in  the  Laos 
states  of  Siam  alone.  The  number  of  ruined  cities 
is  much  larger,  but  this  does  not  so  much  imply 
that  the  population  was  at  times  larger  than  now, 
as  that  in  those  troublous  times  one  city  after  an- 
other was  taken  and  destroyed,  and  if  rebuilt,  re- 
built on  a  new  site  rather  than  on  the  old.    In  re- 


Arts  and  Industries  6i 

cent  years  part  of  these  walls,  especially  the  curious 

"  pig's  ear  "  outworks  at  the  city  gates,  have  been 

pulled  down,  and  the  material  used  in  road-making. 

Still,  much  that  is  picturesque  remains,  though  the 

growth  of  the  cities  to-day  is  mainly  outside  the 

walls. 

rp.  One  of  the  most  curious  and  import- 

j  ant  industries  of  the  Laos  is  the  manu- 

T    J     ^  facture  of  lacquer  ware.    From  Chiensf 

Industry        ,^  .    ,  .  ^ .  ,  ,,        ^ 

Mai  this  ware  is  not  only  sent  all  over 

the  Laos  states,  but  to  Bangkok  as  well.      Anyone 

who  compares  the    Laos    w^are   with   Japanese    or 

Russian  lacquer  w^are,  will  be  struck  at  once  with 

its   extreme   lightness.     If  he  examines   carefully, 

and  finds  some  nick  in  the  lacquer  covering,  he  may 

discover  the  reason;  the  Laos  lacquer  is  laid  over 

an  exceedingly  fine  and    strong    basket    work    of 

split  bamboo.    While  its  finish  is  less  artistic  than 

the  Japanese  ware,  its  lightness,  its  strength,  and 

its  graceful  form  commend  it  to  all.    The  gum  from 

which  the  lacquer  is  prepared  is  found  in  the  Laos 

forests,  and  forms  an  important  article  of  export. 

_  Repousse  work  in  silver  and  gold   is 

OM  done  with  much  skill  in  all  Laos  cities. 

Silverware  ,    ,  ..^^i      r  .1  .  ,1       r        •,  • 

but  little  of  this  work  has  found  its  way 

to  foreign  markets.  This  is  because  Burmese  sil- 
ver work  is  similar  and  equally  good,  and  there  is 
in  the  Laos  states  no  adequate  supply  of  native 
silver.  However,  some  exquisite  specimens  of  sil- 
verware and  ivory  carving  have  recently  drawn  at- 
tention to  it.      There  is  a  little  brass  and  no  gold  in 


62  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

the  country,  save  what  is  imported,  and  work  in 
these  metals  is  not  important.  Charcoal,  iron 
and  steel  of  fair  quality  are  made  and  wrought  into 
knives,  plowshares  and  other  utensils  and  tools, 
but  the  supply  is  inadequate,  and  there  is  a  con- 
siderable demand  for  foreign  iron  and  ironware. 
No  coal  has  yet  been  found,  and  iron  is  not  abun- 
dant, so  the  industrial  future  is  not  promising.  Laos 
will  never  be  a  rich  country. 

p       .  No  notice   of   Laos   industries   should 

^         fail  to  mention  wood-carving,    as    no 
^^  Laos  temple,  or    Laos    house    of    any 

pretensions,  would  be  complete  with- 
out it.  Even  in  the  humbler  homes  and  humblest 
utensils,  exquisite  bits  of  the  wood-carver's  art  are 
often  found.  The  gable  ends,  the  ridgepole,  lintel 
and  doorposts,  the  doors  themselves,  the  entire 
front  of  the  temple  sometimes,  are  adorned  with 
carvings  in  teak  wood,  sometimes  covered  with 
lacquer  and  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl.  It  is  less 
perfect  than  the  best  Swiss  and  Tyrolese  carving, 
but  one  is  often  reminded  of  these.  Finely  carved 
images  of  the  Buddha  in  rock  crystal  are  found  in 
some  of  the  older  temples,  as  well  as  images  in 
bronze,  brass  and  silver,  but  I  do  not  know  that 
such  work  is  produced  to-day.  The  most  common 
images  and  ornamental  work  in  the  temple  are  of 
brick  covered  with  stucco.  The  best  work  of  this 
sort  to-day  is  done  by  men  who  have  learned  their 
trade  in  Burma.  However,  the  amount  of  stucco 
work  is  everywhere  so  great  that  much  of  it  must 


A  Laos  Boat 
Note  Polemen  and  Cabin 


Arts  and  Industries  63 

be  native.  Some  of  it  is  very  effective.  Stucco 
work  as  well  as  wood-carving  and  brass  work 
in  the  temples  are  often  covered  with  gold  leaf. 
Princes  and  wealthy  merchants  thus  display  their 
wealth,  and  gain,  as  they  think,  much  merit  for 
themselves. 

-5  Laos  boats  are  of  a  peculiar  type,  and 

p  ., ,.  are  specially  fitted  to  the  water  they 
^  have  to  navigate.  Of  too  shallow  draft 
and  too  small  freight  capacity  for  the  lower  river, 
they  seem  odd  and  out  of  place  in  Bangkok.  It  is 
when  poled  or  pulled  up  the  swirling  waters  of  the 
rapids  that  they  may  be  seen  at  their  best.  The 
building  of  these  boats  is  one  of  the  main  industries 
at  Chieng  Mai  and  river  villages  near  by.  A  single 
tree  trunk  forty  or  fifty  feet  long  is  hollowed  out, 
then  gradually  spread  by  steam  and  pressure  to 
form  not  only  the  keel,  but  two  feet  of  the  sides. 
Above  this  the  sides  are  formed  of  planks,  lap- 
streaked  on.  The  deck,  the  walls  and  roof  of  the 
cabin,  the  high  prow,  the  enormous  steering  oar, 
all  have  a  history  and  a  peculiar  adaptation  to 
needs.  The  stern,  shaped  like  a  fish's  tail,  seems 
merely  ornamental,  but  may  have  a  use  a  foreigner 
does  not  readily  understand.  The  keel  and  bottom, 
all  of  one  piece,  is  exceedingly  heavy,  but  it  makes 
the  boat  rigid  and  specially  fits  it  to  be  dragged 
safely  over  the  rocks  that  fill  the  narrow  channel 
at  the  rapids  in  low  water. 

Already  the  railway  is  surveyed  to  Lakawn,  and 
in  ten  years  from  now  the  Laos    boat   may   be   a 


64  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

thing  of  the  past,  and  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
elements  in  Laos  Hfe  may  disappear  forever. 

As    in    other    parts    of    Asia,     the 
conventional    garb     and     utilitarian 

^ ways  of  the  West  are  gradually  re- 

Civilization         .  \       ^1      J.  ^.     .•        1  , 

placmg  the  distmctive  dress,  uten- 
sils and  conveyances  of  oriental  peoples.  Western 
civilization  brings  advantages  to  the  East  that  I  do 
not  mean  to  minimize,  but  it  is  robbing  it,  as  it  has 
already  robbed  the  West,  of  much  that  is  pictur- 
esque and  in  the  highest  sense  useful. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    LAOS    YEAR    IN    FIELD    AND    HARVEST  ^ 

— .  Rice  and  teak  may  seem  to  have  little  in 

,  common,  but  for  the  Laos    man    they    fit 

rjy  ,  into  one  another  both  in  space  and  time. 
One  furnishes  his  main  food,  the  other  his 
main  source  of  wealth;  one  keeps  him  busy  in  the 
wet  season,  the  other  in  the  dry;  one  occupies  the 
plain,  the  other  the  mountain  and  forest.  To  these 
two  great  industries  of  rice-growing  and  lumbering 
all  others  are  subordinate  and  secondary.  If  you 
would  know  and  appreciate  Laos  industry  and  life, 
you  must  see  it  in  rice-planting  and  harvest,  in 
logging  camp  and  river  jam. 

P  .   -  -.      The  planting  and  care  of  the  rice  crop 
,  among  the  hills  of  the  north  is    by    no 

p.  means  so  simple  a    matter   as    on    level 

plains  near  the  sea.  There  the  Burmese 
or  Siamese  farmer  simply  waits  until  the  abundant 
rains  flood  the  whole  country,  and  keep  it  flooded 
through  the  rice  season.  Not  so  in  the  north, 
where  lofty  ranges  of  mountains  along  the  Bur- 
mese border  rob  the  trade  winds  of  most  of  the  bur- 
den of  rain  they  bring  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal 
before  they  reach  the  plains  of  northern  Siam. 
Along  the  western  side  of  these  mountains  from 


66  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Maulmein  in  Burma,  north  to  Assam,  an  annual 
rainfall  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  two  hundred 
and  forty-five  inches  makes  irrigation  unnecessary. 
As  one  goes  south  from  Maulmein,  the  mountains 
are  lower  and  cut  off  less  rain,  so  that  nearly  the 
same  conditions  prevail  in  lower  Siam.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  Chieng  Mai  the  total  rainfall  does  not 
usually  exceed  forty  inches,  and  is  much  less  regu- 
lar. The  Laos  farmer  must  therefore  depend  for 
his  rice  crop,  not  on  the  irregular  rainfalls  in  the 
plains,  but  on  the  mountain  streams. 

_    .     ,.  Irrio:ation  is  a  necessity  and  a  problem 

Irrigation        ,.        .         j.^     .^       \^ti 

of  serious  difficulty.     When  one  sees 

great  ditches  that  bring  the  water  many  miles,  with 
aqueducts  that  carry  them  at  times  across  not  in- 
considerable valleys  and  streams,  and  realizes  that 
all  this  work  has  been  done  without  transit  or 
compass,  or  other  surveying  instruments ;  when  one 
sees  the  dams  and  levees  that  are  built  to  control 
the  floods,  and  watches  the  teak  logs  whirled  end 
over  end  against  these  feeble  barriers  by  the  swol- 
len waters,  he  begins  to  appreciate  the  patience  and 
skill  of  the  Laos  farmer.  At  best  the  ditches  must 
be  cleansed  of  accumulated  sediment  each  season, 
the  aqueducts  and  dams  repaired  and  strengthened 
or  rebuilt  each  year,  and  only  constant  watchful- 
ness in  flood  time  can  save  the  levees  and  dams 
from  destruction,  the  crops  from  serious  loss.  All 
this  work,  too,  is  done  by  hand;  no  scrapers  or 
ditchers,  or  pile-drivers  help  in  the  work,  which  is 
usually   done   by   the   families    whose  rice   plains 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest        67 

"  eat "  the  water  of  the  ditch  in  question.    Despite 

their  efforts,  not  unfrequently  the  teak  logs  that 

beat  like  battering  rams  against  dam  and  dike    in 

flood  time  break  through  the  one  or  the  other,  and 

whether  the  supply  of  water  is  thus  cut  off  from 

the  higher  levels,  or  the    lower    levels    inundated 

thereby,  in  either  case  the  crop  is  ruined.       The 

rice  farmer's  lot  is  not  an  easy  one. 

_.      ^.  ,  -     The  whole  area  fed  by  a  ditch  is  ter- 

Rice  Field  j       1  j-  •  1    1  1  -a  r 

raced  and  diviaea  by  narrow  ridges  01 

p.  earth    that   serve   as   footpaths    when 

the  plain  is  flooded,  into  sections 
usually  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  acre  in  size,  each 
of  which  must  be  perfectly  level.  The  water  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  higher  terraces  first,  then,  as  a 
section  or  terrace  is  flooded,  the  water  is  turned 
to  other  and  lower  ones.  When  a  section  has  been 
flooded,  so  that  the  hard-baked  earth  has  become 
soft,  plowing  begins.  The  plowshare  is  not  unlike 
one  share  of  an  old-fashioned  "  double-shovel  plow  " 
or  a  corn  cultivator,  but  when  set  at  the  proper 
angle  and  skillfully  handled  it  turns  the  earth,  now 
softened  by  the  overflow,  almost  as  well  as  our  own 
plows,  but  does  not  go  as  deep. 
TVi  \M  f  ^^  ^^  ^^^  Philippines  and  in  India, 
_    rr  ,  the  animal  that  draws  the  plow  is  the 

clumsy-looking  water  buffalo.  His 
big  body  and  horns  and  short  legs  give  a  false  im- 
pression ;  usually  slow  and  sleepy  in  his  movements, 
his  eyes  watch  everything,  and  when  aroused  he  is 
capable  of  considerable  speed  and  is  a  fierce  antago- 


68  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

nist.  He  is  a  more  real  and  present  danger  to 
the  traveler  than  the  tiger  that  lurks  in  the  forest. 
Yet  dangerous  as  he  is,  he  is  often  curiously 
docile  in  the  hands  of  the  tiny  boy  or  girl  who 
watches  him.  Enormously  heavy  and  strong,  fond 
of  the  water  and  mud  in  which  he  delights  to  wal- 
low, he  is  just  fitted  to  pull  the  plow  and  harrow 
in  the  flooded  rice  fields.  There  the  buftalo  is 
always  used  singly.  They  are  yoked  in  pairs  to 
haul  timber  and  logs.  The  buffalo  is  used  for  about 
three  hours  in  the  early  morning,  and  again  in  the 
cool  of  the  evening,  but  from  eight  to  four — through 
the  heat  of  the  day — he  must  be  allowed  to  rest 
and  feed.  If  he  cannot  find  mud  in  which  to  wal- 
low, or  a  stream  in  which  to  lie  while  he  chews  his 
cud,  he  does  not  thrive.  At  night,  tethered  to- 
gether in  the  dooryard,  the  animals  edge  up  to  the 
smudge  that  is  built  to  keep  off  the  mosquitoes. 
p.  The  water  is  allowed  to  stand  on  the 

p-       .  plowed  fields  until  grass  and  weeds  are 

^  in  a  measure  killed,  then  a  peculiar  har- 
row, drawn  by  a  buffalo — not  unlike  an  old- 
fashioned  hayrake — drags  out  the  weeds  and  straw 
and  at  the  same  time  mixes  the  mud  and  water  to 
a  tolerably  smooth  mass.  In  the  middle  of  the 
day,  while  the  buffalo  rests  and  feeds,  the  farmer  is 
busy  completing  by  hand  the  work  of  the  harrow, 
repairing  the  ridges  of  earth  that  confine  the  water 
to  each  section,  and  controlling  the  flow  of  water. 
Meantime  the  seed  rice  has  been  thickly  sown  in 
beds  where  the  children  can  watch  it  and  keep  off 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest         69 

the  crows.    I  know  of  no  more  beautiful  sight  than 

the  fresh  green  of  these  seed  beds  in  which  the  rice 

is  allowed  to  grow  until  it  is  about  a  foot  high. 

It  is  then  pulled  up,  shaken  from  the  earth,  and 

tied  in  bunches  convenient  for  handling. 

Plowing  and  harrowing  are  now  completed,  and 

earth  and  water    over    the    flooded    fields    form    a 

creamy  paste  of  mud,  in  which  father  and  mother 

Wade  while  they  plant  the  rice.    Holding  in  the  left 

hand  a  bunch  of  the  young  rice,  with  the  right  each 

deftly  seizes  two  spears  of  rice  and  plunges  them 

together  into  the  soft  mud  at  his  feet.    In  poor  land 

the  rice  must  be  more  closely  planted,  but  about 

eight  inches  apart  each  way  would  be  an  average. 

The  movements  of  an  expert    rice  planter  are  so 

swift  one  can  scarce  follow  them  with  the  eye,  yet 

it  is  at  best  slow  work.     Only  an  expert  can  plant 

a  half  acre  in  a  day. 

T5  r  Once  the  rice  is  planted,  if  the  supply  of 

^,  water  keeps  up  and  no  flood    comes    to 

the  ,  .        .         ,       ^  ,      ,     . 

TT  drown  the  rice,  the  farmer  s  duties  are 

light  till  harvest  approaches.  Once  at 
least — more  often  if  low  water  allows  weeds  to 
grow — the  children  must  go  over  the  fields  and  pull 
out  the  weeds  that  grow  despite  the  water.  If  any 
of  the  rice  dies,  fresh  shoots  must  be  set.  Occa- 
sionally, if  a  flood  kills  all  the  rice  in  a  limited  area, 
the  farmer  can  get  enough  young  rice  to  replant  the 
whole,  but  when  planted  late  the  crop  is  short. 

Drought,    flood,    plant  disease,    caterpillars    and 
crabs,  are  some  of  the  difliculties  with  which  the 


70  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

farmer  must  contend.  In  addition,  constant  watch 
must  be  kept  against  cattle,  buffaloes  and  elephants, 
lest  they  eat  and  tread  down  the  green  rice.  As  har- 
vest approaches  vast  flocks  of  birds  gather  and  take 
toll,  despite  scarecrows  and  clappers  and  shouting 
boys. 

-,       .  A  little  before  the  strain  is  ripe  the 

Keapmg  .      ,         ^,       ,1^-1,  1 

,  water  is  shut  011  and  the  nelds  are  al- 

^,       ,  .  lowed  to  dry.    Even  then  the  barefoot 

reapers  are  often  ankle  deep  in  soft 
mud.  Their  reaping  knives  are  like  short  sickles. 
Each  stool  of  rice  is  cut  separately  and  allowed  to 
dry  for  a  day  before  the  rice  is  bound  in  small  bun- 
dles. In  Nan  and  Pre,  the  cut  grain  is  stacked 
around  a  square  of  ground  that  is  prepared  as  a 
threshing  floor,  but  in  Chieng  Mai  the  grain  is 
threshed  at  once.  Rice  has  no  chaff,  and,  since  it 
has  only  to  be  broken  from  its  stem,  is  easily 
threshed.  In  Chieng  Mai  an  enormous  shallow 
basket,  ten  feet  in  diameter,  is  carried  from  place 
to  place  in  the  field  and  the  bundles  of  rice  are 
beaten  out  over  the  edge.  In  Nan,  heavy  boards 
set  at  an  angle  are  placed  round  the  threshing  floor 
and  over  these  the  rice  is  threshed  out. 
.   TT  ^     Since  the  threshing   in    Nan   waits    a 

p      .     .  month  or  more  on  the  convenience  of 

the  farmer,  there  is  time  to  make  it  a 
festal  occasion.  Each  farmer  in  turn,  or  a  group  of 
them  that  have  stacked  their  rice  around  a  single 
threshing  floor,  makes  a  "  bee  "  and  invites  all  the 
countryside  to  help  thresh  his  rice.      With  laughter 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest        71 

and  jest,  with  feasting,  and  covert  if  not  open  love- 
making  between  the  lads  and  lassies,  the  work  goes 
merrily  on.  Minstrelsy,  song  and  games  of  various 
kinds,  have  place  after  darkness  falls  on  the  busy 
scene,  although,  if  it  be  moonlight,  the  sound  of 
the  threshing  may  often  be  heard  far  into  the 
night.  One  disadvantage  of  this  plan  is  the  danger 
from  thieves  and  elephants.  Watch  must  be  kept 
each  night  beside  every  threshing  floor  until  the 
grain  is  threshed  and  carried  away.  The  customs 
at  Nan  certainly  make  the  threshing  a  picturesque 
scene  and  make  the  season  less  hurried,  more 
merry  and  light-hearted  than  in  Chieng  Mai. 
-^     .  When  the  harvest  is  on,  every  man  is  sure 

p.  ^^  ^  to  ask  of  his  employer  a  week  off  to  "  buy 
rice."  He  thinks  he  can  buy  it  much 
cheaper  in  the  held,  and  does  not  count  the  time  he 
spends  going  from  place  to  place,  haggling  over 
the  price;  perhaps  he  finally  pays  more  than  he 
would  have  had  to  pay  in  the  first  field  he  visited. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  save  among  friends,  little  rice 
is  sold  at  once,  the  owner  usually  holding  on  in  the 
hope  of  higher  prices,  the  buyer  looking  for  lower. 
But  what  of  that?  The  pleasure  of  "buying  rice" 
is  the  share  in  the  joy  of  harvest;  a  vacation  is 
worth  much  to  him,  as  well  as  to  you  and  to  me, 
even  if  it  brings  in  no  shekels. 

^,     ^  From  tlie  beG:inning  of  the  heavy  rains 

The  Laos       ,      ^    t   1  .m    •      xt  -jji        r 

„  about  July   i,  until   m   the   middle   of 

January  when  the  last  of  the  harvest 

is  brought  in,  the  time  of  the  vast  majority  of  the 


72  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Laos  people  is  occupied  with  labor  in  the  fields. 
The  nearly  six  months  that  intervene  before  an- 
other crop  must  be  planted  is  a  time  when  farm 
labor  is  light,  and  the  thrifty,  active  man  seeks 
other  employment.  During  these  months  little 
rain  falls,  and  as  the  heat  of  the  year  culminates 
in  March  and  April,  it  is  not  a  time  to  grow  any- 
thing, save  in  spots  where  abundant  water  for  irri- 
gation is  to  be  had.  Then  it  is  that  the  thought  and 
footsteps  of  men  turn  to  the  forests,  where  many 
thousands  of  them  are  employed  during  the  dry 
season.  But  ere  we  follow  them  hither  we  will 
see  a  little  of  the  work  in  the  fields  after  harvest. 
_  Where  water  for  irrigation  is  abundant, 

.     .r^    TA       a  second  crop  of  rice  may  be  planted 
^  ^  in    February  and    harvested  in    June. 

There  are  also  low-lying  areas,  wholly 
flooded  during  the  rains,  that  produce  a  good  crop  at 
this  season.  The  amount  of  dry-season  rice  planted 
increases  each  year,  but  over  the  bulk  of  the  rice 
plains  the  water  is  insufficient  to  mature  a  second 
crop  of  rice.  Even  for  other  crops  that  require  less 
water  and  a  shorter  season,  the  time  available  be- 
fore the  blistering  heat  of  March  and  April  dries 
up  everything  is  very  short.  Tobacco,  onions,  gar- 
lic and  some  other  vegetables  are  planted  in  the 
rice  fields.  As  soon  as  the  rice  can  be  got  out 
o£  the  way  or  even  earlier,  as  soon  as  the  floods 
are  over,  the  sand  bars  along  every  stream  are 
hastily  fenced  in  and  prolific  gardens  of  peppers. 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest        73 

cucumbers,  beans,  sweet  corn,  okra,  mustard,  sweet 
potatoes  and  squashes,  soon  appear.  It  is  not  long 
until  the  receding  waters  leave  most  of  these  gar- 
dens high  and  dry.  Shallow  wells  are  dug  in  the 
sand,  and  by  dint  of  many  hours  of  labor  each  day 
with  bucket  and  dipper  these  gardens  are  brought 
to  maturity. 

_,  p.^  The  harvests  once  over,  the  morning 
p  ,^  markets  are  full  once  more.  The  very 
first  of  the  new  rice,  patiently  hulled  in 
the  rice  pounder,  is  eagerly  sought  for.  It  has  a 
delicate  flavor  that  is  lacking  after  harvest.  All 
through  the  year  the  work  of  "  pounding  the  rice  " 
is  a  daily  task  for  the  women  and  children  in  every 
household.  However,  the  amount  of  rice  sold 
pounded,  that  is  ready  to  cook,  increases  each  year. 
Many  families  prefer  to  store  their  extra  rice  and 
pound  it  before  gelling  it.  Not  only  do  they  get 
a  little  higher  price  for  it,  but  they  have  less  weight 
to  carry  to  market,  and  the  bran  fed  to  the  pigs 
adds  .to  the  family  income.  Pigs  are  not  usually 
allowed  to  run  at  large,  but  are  fed  by  hand,  not 
only  with  this  bran  but  with  weeds  gathered  by  the 
children  and  cooked  with  the  bran  by  the  grand- 
mother in  a  big  earthen  pot  reserved  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  rice  pounder  is  a  big  wooden  mortar 
sunk  in  the  ground,  whose  pestle  is  lifted  by  a  lever 
with  the  foot  and  allowed  to  drop  by  its  own 
weight.  In  the  hands  of  a  skilled  woman  it  breaks 
less  of  the  rice  than  the  rice  mills,  but  it  is  slow. 


74  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

^  ,  Having  stored  the  harvested  rice 

^      -,  in  the  rice  house,  helped  in  the 

Dry-Season  .     ^.  ,  ,  .  ,  ,        ., 

_      -  planting  of  his  garden  and  paid 

his  taxes,  the  husband  and  father 
is  free  to  accept  such  remunerative  employment  as 
may  come  to  him.  The  care  of  the  garden  and  pigs, 
the  watching  of  the  buffaloes  and  cattle,  the  market- 
ing of  the  surplus  rice  and  the  produce  of  gardens 
and  fruit  trees,  can  safely  be  left  to  the  oversight 
of  the  wife.  The  dry  season  is  therefore  the  time 
of  the  year  when  lumber  is  sawed,  new  granaries 
and  houses  and  temples  erected,  new  fields  cleared, 
and  new  irrigation  ditches  made.  In  short,  the 
thousand  and  one  things  that  await  a  convenient 
season  are  done  at  that  time. 
-^    ,  Many  of  those  employed  the  year  round 

.     ^,  by   timber    companies    are    Kah    Mooh, 

m  the  -^         ,       ..  1  Ml  r  M     »  .      -n        t,    T 

Tj,  men  of  a      hill  tribe,     in    French    Laos 

who    are    particularly    skilled    with    the 

ax  and  with  elephants.    They  come  over,  a  hundred 

together,  for  a  few  years  and  then  return  to  their 

homes  on  the  French  side  of  the  border.     They  are 

willing  to  work  the  entire  year,  and  can  be  had 

more   cheaply   than    Laos   workers,   and   they   cut 

most  of  the  timber.     But  during  the  dry  season  a 

large  number  of  Laos  men  are  also    employed    to 

girdle  the  trees,   to    clear   underbrush,    and    guard 

both  standing  timber  and  logs  against  fire,  and  to 

make  roads  for  the  elephants  to  drag  the  logs  down 

the    mountains.       Many    others    are    employed    in 

cutting  timber  other  than  teak,  for  house  posts,  for 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest        75 

lumber  and  for  fuel,  and  in  gathering  rattan  and 

various  resins  and  gums  used  in  making  dammer, 

varnishes  and  lacquer. 

^,     TA  .  Ag^ain  in  the  months  that  intervene  be- 

The  Drive      ^  ^^  •        1     ..  j  1.  ^    c 

J        ,  tween  rice-plantmg  and  harvest,  bep- 

"^  tember  and  October,  especially,  when 

the  floods  lift  the  heavy  logs,  many  men  are  em- 
ployed to  help  the  elephants  in  the  drive,  working 
the  logs  off  the  sand  bars  and  keeping  them  moving, 
preventing  them,  if  possible,  from  gathering  in  a 
jam  that  closes  the  channel.  Despite  all  care, 
some  teak  log  will  get  caught  and  others  gradually 
pile  against  it,  till  hundreds,  even  thousands  of  logs 
are  piled  in  seemingly  inextricable  confusion  clear 
across  the  channel.  Such  a  jam  of  logs  has  many 
times  endangered  the  bridge  at  Chieng  Mai,  and  in 
the  rapids  boats  sometimes  must  wait  for  days  till 
the  water  goes  down  sufficiently  for  the  elephants 
and  men  to  be  able  to  get  at  the  logs,  or  till  a  higher 
rise  sweeps  all  before  it  and  clears  the  channel. 

T^,  -  ,  I  know  of  no  more  interestinsf  sight 
Elephants      ^,        ^         ,  ,  r    1     ,    \ 

f  w    ir        than  to  watch  a  company  of  elephants 

at  work  to  break  such  a  jam,  and  open 

the  channel.     A  mahout  sits  on  the  head  of  each 

elephant    to    direct    it,    but    often    the    intelligent 

animals  seem  themselves  to  know  what  to  do.     The 

males  work  with  tusk,  trunk  and  head,  the  females 

helping  with  trace  chains  attached  to  broad  trace 

bands  over  their  shoulders.     One  by  one  the  key 

logs  are  pulled  out,  and  as  the  mass  of  logs  begins 

to  move  the  warning  "  trumpet "  of  some  watchful 


76  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

tusker  gives  the  alarm,  and  the  great  beasts  rusK 
for  safety  to  the  bank  or  down  stream.  Not  in- 
frequently, one  of  them  is  injured,  or  even  killed 
in  the  work,  but  still  without  these  giants  of  the 
forest  it  would  be  difficult  to  handle  the  timber 
of  the  tropics.  There  is  no  snow  to  make  easy  the 
moving  of  enormous  loads,  and  as  yet  little  machin- 
ery has  been  introduced  that  could  replace  them. 
^,  Any  book  on  Siam  that  gave    only    a 

„-     ,  passing  reference  to  these  kings  of  the 

-  ^.  animal  kingdom  would  certainly  be  in- 

complete, the  more  so,  that  the  largest 
elephants  in  the  world  are  said  to  be  those  found 
in  the  forests  of  Siam,  especially  in  the  Laos  states. 
Years  ago,  when  the  timber  business  was  smaller 
than  now,  every  Laos  family  of  means  had  an 
elephant,  perhaps  several  of  them.  They  were 
used  frequently  on  journeys  as  well  as  to  drag 
timber  and  bring  in  the  rice  from  the  fields.  It 
was  easy  then  to  hire  them  for  a  journey  across 
country.  The  waiter  traveled  with  and  on  tliem 
a  few  times  years  ago.  In  those  days  they  were 
well  called  the  "  ships  of  the  forest."  To-day  the 
increase  in  the  timber  business  has  so  increased  the 
demand  and  enhanced  the  price  that  they  are  used 
little  in  other  work.  Only  here  and  there  can  one 
see  the  "  family  elephants,"  so  common  not  many 
years  ago.  A  good  tusker  is  now  worth  a  thousand 
dollars,  and  only  the  princes,  of  those  wdio  have 
constant  use  for  them,  can  afford  to  own  one. 
Each  year  the  princes  who  claim  ownership  in  the 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest        77 

wild  elephants  in  the  mountains,  organize  hunts  to 
bring  in  those  untamed  children  of  the  forests  and 
train  them  for  the  work  they  alone  can  do.  In 
April,  1908,  twenty-five  of  these  captives,  each 
escorted  by  and  chained  to  a  tame  elephant,  were 
brought  together  into  the  city  of  Chieng  Mai.  It 
was  a  great  event,  and  several  princes,  each  with 
his  retainers,  mounted  on  elephants,  went  out  to 
meet  them,  so  that  a  hundred  elephants  or  more 
appeared  in  the  procession.  Probably  at  least  ten 
of  these  twenty-five  captives  died  before  they  could 
be  trained  to  the  work  and  life  of  a  captive,  but 
the  balance  would  bring  five  to  ten  thousand  dollars 
to  their  captors.  This  seems  cruel,  but  it  is  prob- 
ably unavoidable.  Nowadays  there  is  little  or  no 
cruelty  in  the  method  of  capture  of  the  elephants, 
and  great  care  is  taken  vv^ith  their  food  and  train- 
ing. 

.   P  Broken  for  the  most  part    while    still 

pi  ]-  t  young,  and  treated  with  reasonable 
kindness,  the  trained  elephants  often 
become  very  docile  and  much  attached  to  their 
keepers,  but  every  now  and  then  harsh  treatment  or 
inherent  bad  blood  makes  a  rogue  elephant.  The 
physician  in  charge  of  the  Chieng  Mai  Hospital, 
Dr.  J.  W.  McKean,  tells  the  following  incident : 

"  Not  long  ago  my  friend.  Dr.  W.  A.  Briggs  of 
Chieng  Rai  (to  whom  this  book  owes  its  best  photo- 
graphs) was  in  Chieng  Mai  on  mission  business. 
I  asked  the  Chow  Raja  Wong,  the  prince  who  ranks 
next  to  the  governor,  to  place  some  of  his  elephants 


78  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

at  our  disposal  for  photographic  purposes.  To 
this  the  prince  readily  assented.  We  found  the 
palace  yard  well  filled  with  elephants. 

"  Two  particularly  fine  ones,  the  prince's  favor- 
ites, were  to  be  photographed  first.  To  add  a 
flavor  of  novelty,  I  suggested  that  His  Excellency 
ride  on  the  neck  of  the  larger.  He  consented  and 
proposed  that  I  ride  on  the  other.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  prince,  re-dressed  as  a  mahout,  mounted  his 
tusker,  and  I  mounted  the  elephant  with  a  howdah. 
Dr.  Briggs  made  one  exposure,  the  one  shown  in 
the  picture,  and  asked  us  to  change  position  a  bit 
before  he  pressed  the  button  again.  We  did  so; 
without  warning  the  prince's  beast  charged  mine 
from  behind  and  drove  him  headforemost  against 
an  eight-foot  solid  board  fence,  which  can  be  seen 
in  the  photograph  behind  the  larger  elephant.  He 
withdrew  for  a  moment,  giving  me  time  to  spring 
to  the  fence  and  escape  to  the  ground  on  the  other 
side;  then,  thrusting  his  tusks  into  the  side  of  my 
elephant  just  behind  the  fore  leg,  he  drove  him 
broadside  through  that  high  fence  as  though  it  had 
been  made  of  straw,  and  pinned  him  up  against  a 
building  beyond.  Although  his  servants  and 
friends  were  white  with  terror,  the  prince  sat  on 
the  neck  of  that  ferocious  brute  like  the  prince 
that  he  is,  till  the  elephant's  own  driver,  climbing  to 
the  top  of  the  fence,  sprang  to  the  monster's  back, 
crawled  past  the  prince  and  seated  himself  on  his 
head.  No  sooner  did  the  brute  feel  his  master  in 
command,  than  he  drew  back  and  allowed  the  poor, 


The  Laos  Year  in  Field  and  Harvest        79 

wounded  elephant  to  arise.  The  latter,  although 
seriously  injured,  ultimately  recovered.  In  terror 
and  confusion,  the  other  elephants  had  stampeded, 
and  there  were  no  more  photographs  that  day.  I 
have  not  sat  on  an  elephant's  neck  since." 

This  favorite  of  the  prince  has  several  times 
tried  to  kill  his  mahout,  or  seriously  injure  other 
elephants,  but  the  prince  still  uses  and  loves  him. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  FACE  OF  THE  LAND 

p  .    «  As   the   mountains   are   round    about 

Jerusalem,  so  are  they  round  about  all 
the  Laos  valleys.  As  the  heart  of  the  Jewish  cap- 
tive longed  for  his  native  hills,  so  the  heart  of  the 
Laos  man  or  woman  out  of  sight  of  these  moun- 
tains longs  for  the  verdure-clad  slopes.  Even  upon 
the  foreigner  who  has  been  resident  there,  the 
charms  of  "  Fair  Laos "  have  laid  their  spell. 
When  back  in  his  native  land,  he  lifts  his  eyes,  but 
sees  not  the  encircling  hills  to  which  his  spirit 
turns.  As  in  Japan,  three  fourths  of  the  area  never 
can  be  cultivated.  Were  the  rainfall  as  abundant 
as  in  Japan,  a  larger  area  would  be  available,  but 
rains  are  irregular  and  uncertain.  Only  the  land 
that  is  most  fertile,  and  most  favorably  situated,  can 
profitably  be  cultivated,  practically  only  that  which 
can  be  irrigated. 

p       -  Though  the   Laos   states   as   a   whole 

p,  .  are  sparsely  populated,  some   of   these 

fertile  areas  have  a  very  dense  popu- 
lation. Stand  with  me  on  a  rice  plain  near  the 
center  of  population  of  the  province  of  Lampoon, 
just  south  of  the  new  chapel  in  Bahn  Pan.  The 
rice  plain  about  you  is  as  level  as  a  floor,   but   in 

80 


The  Face  of  the  Land  8i 

every  direction  you  can  see  mountains  that  sur- 
round the  great  Chieng  Mai  plain  rising  to  a  height 
of  four  to  eight  thousand  feet.  East  of  you  and 
near  at  hand,  is  the  village  of  Muang  Chee  with 
four  thousand  people;  to  the  south  lies  the  village 
of  Sun  Ka  Noi,  only  a  little  smaller;  west  and  north 
are  two  other  large  villages,  and  within  three  miles 
of  the  point  where  we  stand  are  a  dozen  other 
villages  with  one  to  five  hundred  people  each.  Al- 
together, within  that  radius  of  three  miles,  is  a 
farming  population  of  hardly  less  than  twelve 
thousand  people,  or  nearly  five  hundred  to  the 
square  mile.  Some  of  them  may  work  land  outside 
this  area,  but  most  of  them  depend  for  their  sup- 
port on  the  area  in  which  they  live.  Within 
these  limits,  the  population  is  as  dense  as  in  Bel- 
gium, only  a  little  lesSvdense  than  on  the  plains  of 
China: 

,-,     T,,       ^  .  But    only  five  miles  away,  one 

The  Mountains  ^  ,•      .  .      r    r 

T5  ^  enters  a  district    of    forest    and. 

Between  ^  •       t,       ^t,    ^        i 

mountain  where  the  traveler  pro- 
ceeds for  three  days  before  reaching  any  consider- 
able village.  There  are  fertile  valleys  to  be  sure, 
but  they  are  narrow  and  isolated.  Although  clad 
with  vegetation,  often  to  their  summits,  the  mount- 
ains are  for  the  most  part  too  barren  or  too  steep 
for  cultivation. 

^r  ^      9  Only  in  well-watered  ravines  and 

Nature's  ./  ^,  .... 

^        ^      ,  valleys  among  the  mountains  does 

Own  Gardens  v-    ,  ^t,  f      -i^  i         •  r 

one  find  that  wild  luxuriance  of 

vegetation  that  we  are  apt  to  imagine  characterizes 


82  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

the  tropics  everywhere.  In  such  spots  tree  ferns, 
wild  palms  and  bananas  grow  luxuriantly,  a  wealth 
of  smaller  ferns  lift  their  graceful  fronds  from  the 
crevices  of  the  rocks,  long  palmlike  vines  of  the 
prickly  rattan  are  festooned  from  the  trees.  Above 
and  around  them  all,  more  graceful  than  either,  the 
clumps  of  bamboo  curve  upward  and  outward. 
One  never  tires  of  watching  the  ever-changing 
beauty  of  these.  Nature's  own  gardens,  especially 
if  through  the  swaying  foliage  he  catches  glimpses 
of  verdure-clad  cliffs  and  trickling  waters.  Such 
spots  of  beauty  may  be  found  near  the  "  Gates 
of  the  Mountains,"  in  Lakawn,  in  the  "  Valley  of  the 
Four  Thousand,"  in  Nan,  in  "Wild  Palm  Glen,"  on 
the  slopes  of  Ogre  Mountain,  north  of  Chieng 
Mai. 

rp  .  ,  The  delicate  spring  flowers  that  are  the 
p,  charm  of  the  American  forest  are  hardly 

matched  in  the  tropics.  The  so-called 
"ground  orchids,"  that  abound  on  the  mountains 
in  April,  are  nearest  to  them.  The  real  orchids  are 
mainly  air  plants  and  bloom  in  the  clefts  of  tall 
forest  trees.  Just  at  the  close  of  the  dry  season, 
whole  forests  of  flowering  trees  blaze  out  in  gor- 
geous red  and  yellow  and  pink.  Many  of  these,  as 
well  as  the  more  modest  acacias,  tamarinds  and 
"  fool  beans,"  belong  to  the  pea  family  which  pre- 
dominates among  the  flowers  of  Siam.  Earlier  in 
the  season,  thickets  of  certain  compositse  make 
great  masses  of  purple,  of  dull  red,  and  of  yellow, 
beside  the  path.     However,  flowers  are  sought  by 


The  Face  of  the  Land  83 

the  Laos  maidens,  not  for  their  color,  but  for  their 
fragrance.  The  "  jewel-tree  "  furnishes  its  delicate 
greenish  flowers  for  their  wreaths  almost  through- 
out the  year.  Tuberoses,  golden  acacias,  jasmine 
and  roses,  are  among  the  favorites.  The  young 
man  is  more  apt  to  choose  flowers  of  brilliant  color, 
and  places  over  his  ear  a  sprig  of  "  peacock-flower," 
or  a  brilliant-hued  orchid. 

_.,_,-  These  brilliant  flowers  remind  one  of 
the  plumage  of  the  chattering  little 
parrots  that  sometimes  appear  in  almost  countless 
numbers.  Other  birds  of  brilliant  plumage  flash 
in  and  out  of  the  forest  glades.  White  and  gray 
cranes,  pelicans  and  sandpipers,  abound  along  the 
rivers.  The  myna  bird  perches  gravely  on  the  back 
of  the  grazing  buffalo,  and  searches  for  his  food, 
to  the  evident  relief  of  the  great  beast.  Doves  not 
unlike  our  wood  pigeon  utter  a  similar  note  in  the 
forest,  and  flocks  of  crows  annoy  the  farmers  as 
they  do  here.  But  there  is  a  notable  absence  of 
song  birds;  the  woods  there  are  never  vocal  with 
their  tuneful  notes. 
~,      TT  After    all,    it    is    not    these    garden 

i-  ^1.     rr.     1       spots  of  the  mountains  that  dwell 
of  the  Teak       ^  ^  .    ^,  -ru         1  a 

most  m  the  memory.    The  rocky  and 

somewhat  barren  heights  are  the  home  of  the  teak, 
most  valuable  of  the  timber  trees  of  Siam,  the 
greatest  source  of  the  country's  wealth.  The  con- 
servation and  wise  use  of  these  forests  has  in 
recent  years  demanded  and  received  the  best 
thought  of  the  government  and  its  advisers. 


84  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Many  other  trees  vakiabh 

ber,  and  more  attractive  to  the  eye 


^  -       _        ^     Many  other  trees  vakiable  for  tim- 
Cther  Forest  -^ 


Trees 

than  the    teak,    are    also    found    in 

these  mountains.     Much  of  this  timber  is  so  dense 

and  heavy  that  it  will   not   float   even   v^hen   well 

seasoned,  and  it  is   very   diffieuh   to   handle.     The 

largest  and  finest  of  these  trees  are  often  left  behind 

when   timber  is   cut,   because  they  cannot  handle 

them.     I  remember  especially,    one    giant    of    the 

forest.     Nearly  twelve  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base, 

its  shaft  towering  skyward  straight  as  an  arrow,  a 

full  hundred  feet,    its    spreading    top    raised    still 

higher,  it  was  a  landmark  in  every  direction. 

^    ,,    T^.    ^      Among  the  mountains  of    Nan    is    a 

God  s  First  ^  ^ ,,         .    „  r ,.    . 

^        ,  grove  of     poo-ie     trees  of  little  value 

for  timber  but  of  great  beauty,  that 

stretches  along  the  crest    of    a    narrow    ridge  for 

miles.     Their  corrugated  trunks  like  fluted  columns, 

and  the  grateful  shade  of  their  tops  far,  far  above 

one's  head,  remind  one  of  some  Gothic  cathedral 

or  of  the  massive  monoliths  of  a  Grecian  temple. 

Other  trees  love  rather  the  moister  soil  of  the  river 

bottoms.    Of  these,  the  cotton  tree  which  furnishes 

the  filling  for  the  mattresses  of  the  country,  and  the 

oil  tree  which  supplies  a  sap  not  unlike  turpentine 

and    a    valuable    timber,    are    both    common    and 

beautiful.      The  oil   tree  especially  forms  beautiful 

groves  along  the  main  road.     Such  a  grove  along 

the  way  from  Chieng  Mai  to  Lampoon  is  shown  in 

the   accompanying   illustration.       Notice   how   the 

towering  height  of  the  trees  dwarfs  the  horse  and 


On  the  Road  from  Chieng  Mai  to  Lampoon 
A  grove  of   oil  trees 


The  Face  of  the  Land  85 

cart  in  the  middle  of  the  picture.  Logs  eighty  feet 
in  length,  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  perfectly 
straight,  have  been  cut  in  this  grove. 

^         .A  very  different  tree,    but    not    less 
The  bacred     ^^^^^-^f^i^  is   seen  in  all  the  temple 
Tree  grounds.      Under  one  of  these  "  po  " 

trees,  not  unlike  the  banyan  tree,  Sakya  Muni,  the 
founder  of  Buddhism,  sat  in  meditation  for  three 
years  ere  he  entered  upon  "  the  noble  paths,"  as 
the  principles  of  Buddhism  are  often  called.  In 
later  years,  he  often  taught  under  its  shade,  and 
ever  since  his  followers  have  held  it  sacred.  A 
large  one  near  the  writer's  home  w^as  broken  down 
in  a  storm,  and  obstructed  the  road.  Its  *'  sacred  " 
Vv^ood  is  of  no  use  for  building,  and  no  one  dared  to 
use  it  for  ordinary  fuel.  At  last  the  head  priest 
decided  it  could  be  used  to  burn  brick  for  a  new 
temple,  and  the  broken  tree  was  thus  at  length 
cleared  away.  I  know  of  few  finer  examples  of  the 
noble  tree  than  the  one  pictured  in  the  frontispiece. 
Probably  a  congregation  of  a  thousand  people  could 
be  seated  under  the  shade  of  its  spreading  branches. 
.  Of  larger  game,  there  is  much  variety 

in  the  forests  of  Siam.  Hundreds  of 
elephants  are  still  found  in  a  wild  state, 
and  carefully  protected  as  one  of  the 
assets  of  the  princes.  The  rhinoceros,  too,  is  oc- 
casionally found.  The  wild  ox,  believed  to  be  the 
progenitor  of  domestic  cattle,  is  still  found  in  the 
remote  forests  of  the  Laos  states,  and  he  is  a 
magnificent  beast.     Quite  as  large  and  much  more 


86  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

common,  is  an  enormous  deer  with  antlers  not  un- 
like those  of  a  stag.  The  native  name  for  it  is 
"  quang."  The  only  other  deer  we  often  see  is  the 
tiny  "  barking  deer."  Bears  are  fairly  common, 
and  leopards  often  make  sad  havoc  among  young 
cattle,  buffaloes  and  pigs.  But  it  is  the  Bengal 
tiger  that  is  most  generally  and  most  justly  feared. 
As  a  rule,  he  does  not  attack  man,  but  once  he  has 
tasted  human  flesh  he  seems  satisfied  with  nothing 
else. 

A  Tv/r      r^  A.     On  their  return  from  annual  meeting 
A  Man-Eat-    .    ^    ,  r  r-u-        a/t  • 

-,.  m  Lakawn,  a  company  of  Chieng  JVlai 

mg  Tiger  .    .         . '  /    •  ^u 

missionaries     camped     m     a     rather 

lonely  spot  beside  a  stream.  Nothing  disturbed 
their  rest,  perhaps  because  a  fire  was  kept  up  all 
night.  Only  a  few  nights  later,  a  man  was  dragged 
from  beside  the  fire  at  that  very  place,  and  carried 
off  by  an  enormous  tiger.  From  that  time  on,  for 
months,  that  whole  district  was  kept  in  terror  by 
recurring  instances  of  this  tiger's  boldness.  Not 
less  than  twenty  persons  are  said  to  have  been 
killed,  besides  many  cattle  and  pigs,  by  this  fero- 
cious beast.  Hunts  were  organized,  and  traps  set, 
but  he  always  eluded  his  pursuers.  Whether 
eventually  he  was  killed,  or  simply  left  the  district, 
no  one  knows,  but  after  a  time  his  appearances 
ceased.  The  writer  has  several  times  seen  a  tiger's 
footprints  on  his  travels,  but  never  has  seen  or 
heard  the  monster  himself,  although  several  very 
large  tigers  have  been  shot  in  the  district  through 
which  he  travels. 


*  Si 


The  Face  of  the  Land  87 

Last  but  not  least  of  the  characteristic 
M  n\  ^^^^    animals    of    "the    Land    of    the 

^  Free,"  we  must  mention  the  apes  and 
monkeys  whose  peculiar,  reechoing  cries  may  often 
be  heard  among  the  mountains  by  day  as  well  as 
by  night.  They  seldom  travel  on  the  ground,  but 
swing  from  tree  top  to  tree  top  with  a  boldness 
that  does  not  grow  less  marvelous  as  you  watch  it. 
Very  large  apes  are  sometimes  kept  as  pets,  and 
smaller  ones,  both  black  and  white,  are  favorites  of 
the  children.  In  southern  Siam,  the  long-tailed 
monkeys  are  very  common  in  the  jungles.  Their 
grimaces  and  frolics  are  a  constant  amusement  as 
one's  boat  creeps  quietly  along  the  narrow  canals. 
They  are  also  rather  common  in  the  north,  but  I 
have  seldom  seen  them  kept  as  pets. 

_,     -r-,   rr  1         Thc  domcstic  animals  of  Siam  are 

The  Buffalo  ,     ^,  •      ^u     tt  v  ^ 

much   the   same   as   m   the   United 

States.  Horses  and  cattle,  dogs  and  cats,  chickens 
and  Guinea  fowl,  pigs  and  goats,  ducks,  geese  and 
turkeys — all  are  seen.  But  the  most  important  of 
all  their  domestic  animals  is  one  never  seen  in 
America,  the  caribou  or  water  buffalo.  Although 
he  is  a  close  relative  to  the  domestic  cattle,  he  re- 
minds one  of  a  gigantic  pig,  and  often  carries  a  hun- 
dredweight of  earth  that  has  stuck  to  him  from  his 
last  mud  bath.  He  is  an  ungainly  beast,  usually 
very  slow  in  his  movements,  but  when  roused  or 
angry  his  speed  and  his  enormous  horns  make  him 
dangerous.  However,  the  care  of  this  formidable 
and  ugly  beast  is  usually  committed  to  some  small 


88  An.priental  Land  of  the  Free 

boy  or  girl,  who  sits  the  whole  day  long  on  his 
broad  back  to  keep  him  out  of  the  unfenced  fields 
of  growing  rice.  The  child  mounts  from  behind. 
Grasping  the  bufifalo's  tail,  he  steps  on  the  project- 
ing joint  of  the  hind  leg,  and  with  a  spring  and  a 
scramble  is  soon  seated,  with  perhaps  two  or  three 
others,  on  the  monster's  broad  back.  Strange  to 
say,  these  children  are  seldom  seriously  hurt  by 
the  buffaloes,  and  the  ungainly  creature  is  curiously 
amenable  to  the  will  of  his  tiny  keeper.  The 
buffalo's  main  duty  is  to  pull  the  plow  and  harrow 
morning  and  evening  for  a  couple  of  months  in  the 
year,  but  the  animals  are  also  used  to  sortie  extent 
at  other  seasons  in  hauling  logs  and  firewood. 
They  are  never  killed  for  food,  but  when  they  die 
of  disease,  too  often  the  owner  makes  good  his  loss 
by  selling  the  tainted  meat.  Many  people,  though 
they  know  the  danger,  eat  it  because  it  is  cheaper 
than  slaughtered  meat. 

The  photograph  has  caught  extremely  well  the 
timid,  half-wild  expression  of  these  dangerous 
denizens  of  Asia,  as  they  are  startled  from  their 
noonday  rest  on  a  sand  bar  of  the  Me  Yom. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TRADE    AND    TRAVEL 

,     --  ,        There  are  three  main  lines  of  travel 
^     ,  across  the  Laos  states:  overland  from 

_  Yunnan  Province,  China;  overland  to 

Maulmein  in  Burma ;  and  up  and  down 
the  river  to  Bangkok.  Less  important  caravan  routes 
radiate  in  every  direction,  reaching  the  remotest 
Laos  valleys  and  their  neighbors.  Even  v^hen  roads 
w^ere  beset  by  robbers,  and  neither  life  nor  goods 
was  secure,  still  trade  along  the  main  routes  was 
constant.  There  was  more  danger  by  river  than  by 
land,  so  river  trade  was  less  then  than  now.  As  the 
country  has  become  more  settled,  trade  has  fol- 
lowed the  easier  route,  and  trade  by  caravan  across 
the  mountains  to  Burma  has  relatively  decreased. 
_,     -J  Every  year,  soon  after  the  heavy  rains 

p  are     over,     "  English "     walnuts     are 

found  in  all  the  markets,  sure  sign  that 
the  "  Haw  "  (or  Yunnan  Chinese)  caravans  of  pack 
horses  have  begun  to  arrive.  Not  everyone  is 
aware  that  China  is  the  original  home  of  these  nuts. 
The  Laos  are  very  fond  of  them  and  so  traders 
fill  all  vacant  spaces  in  their  packs.  Their  real 
loads  consist  of  brass  ware,  felt  blankets  and  furs, 
and  sometimes  opium.       Also  they  usually  bring 

89 


go  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

horses  and  mules  for    sale.       Although    in    recent 

years  some  horses  have  been    bred    in    Siam,    the 

best  horses  are  still,  as  in  the  past,  brought   from 

China. 

^,     ^      ,  ,       Most  of  the  "  Haw  "  caravans,  after 

The  Road  to    ^     ,.         ,  ,  v     ^       -^ 

_.  tradmg  along  from  city  to  city,  go 

on  to  Burma,  and  bring  back  loads 
of  European  piece  goods,  hardware  and  provisions, 
bought  in  Maulmein.  Some  of  these  foreign  goods 
they  carry  back  with  them  to  the  north,  but  usually 
they  sell  them  in  the  Laos  markets,  and  load  up 
with  Laos  cotton  and  tobacco  for  the  long  journey 
back  to  Tali-Fu.  The  trip  from  Tali  to  Maulmein, 
via  Chieng  Mai  and  return  could  be  made  in  six 
months,  but  trading  along  the  way  as  the  merchants 
do,  probably  eight  to  ten  months  are  consumed  in 
each  round  trip.  Laos  traders  seldom  go  to  Yun- 
nan, but  toward  Burma  Laos  caravans  share  the 
road  with  the  "  Haws.'*  A  considerable  number  of 
cattle  are  driven  over  for  sale,  and  their  price  is 
brought  back  in  foreign  goods,  carried  either  by  bul- 
locks or  porters,  for  the  Laos  as  a  rule  do  not  use 
pack  mules  or  pack  horses. 

_  ,  .  .  With  Ban8:kok,  the  trading  is 
Trade  with  ..it.-  ^i  i     j 

_       ,    -  partly    by    river,    partly     overland. 

^  Boats    of    some    size    can   be   used 

on  the  lower  river,  but  it  is  difficult  and  ex- 
pensive to  bring  even  the  Laos  boats  up 
the  rapids.  Much  of  the  coarser  goods  are 
therefore  unloaded  at  Muang  Teun,  the  point  below 
the  rapids  nearest  to  Chieng  Mai,  and  packed  by 


Trade  and  Travel  91 

bullocks  over  the  mountains.  Hundreds  of  tons 
of  salt  are  thus  carried  by  bullocks  that  go  back 
and  forth  all  through  the  dry  season.  Salt  is  sel- 
dom brought  by  boat  direct  to  Chieng  Mai,  partly 
because  a  boat  loaded  with  salt  is  hard  to  manage 
in  the  rapids,  and  a  slight  leak  soon  destroys  the 
salt.  Dry  fish  and  some  other  bulky  commodities 
are  brought  in  the  same  way.  For  the  trip  south- 
ward, these  bullock  trains  often  go  empty,  as  the 
bulk  of  freight  in  that  direction  is  far  less.  Some- 
times they  carry  hides,  tobacco  or  lacquer  ware; 
more  often  their  baskets  are  filled  with  "  meeung," 
wild  tea  leaves  from  the  Laos  hills  that  have  been 
steamed  and  packed  in  bamboo  joints,  much  as  en- 
silage is  packed  in  a  silo.  The  Chinese  and  Siam- 
ese, as  .well  as  the  Laos,  chew  "  meeung  "  and  de- 
rive from  it  much  the  same  gentle  stimulation  as 
from  tea. 

-5  ..  -  Very  early  in  the  morning,  one  may  hear 
_     .  the  musical  tinkle  of  the  bells,    as    the 

long  trains  of  bullocks  patiently  plod  up 
hill  and  down,  through  forest  and  stream,  twenty 
days'  journey  from  Muang  Teun  to  Chieng  Mai. 
Before  nine  A.  M.  they  have  finished  their  day's 
journey.  The  packs  are  lifted  from  their  backs, 
and  the  cattle  are  allowed  to  feed  through  the  heat 
of  the  day.  Each  bullock  knows  his  own  load,  and 
before  darkness  gathers,  finds  his  way  back  to  his 
place.  As  darkness  deepens,  the  camp  fires,  lighted 
at  the  end  of  each  row  of  baskets  to  keep  off  wild 
beasts,  gleam  picturesquely  against  the  dark  back- 


92  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

ground  of  forest.      All  is  arranged  and  moved  with 

the  regularity  of  an  army  encampment. 

p         p  Not  only  on  this,  but  on  all  routes, 

_     ,  ^      these    picturesque    bullock    trains 

are  met.      One  year  when  the  rice 

crop  in  Lakawn  was  scanty,  I  met  dozens  of  them, 

those  going  east  loaded  with  rice,  those  bound  west 

hurrying  back  for  a  fresh  load  of  the  "  staff  of  life.'* 

Two  such  trains  collided  in  a  narrow  defile,  and 

much  confusion  with  endless  shouting   ensued    ere 

the  train  could  start  once  more.     One  bullock,  more 

frisky  than  his  neighbors,  was  so  delighted  to  get 

safe  out  of  the  confusion,  that  he  jumped  to  the 

path  on  the  next  ridge  and  rolled  over  and  over, 

baskets  and  all,  a  hundred  feet  down  till  he  struck 

a  big  tree.     This  set  him  free  from  his  baskets  and 

he  jumped  up  none  the  worse  for  his  adventure. 

TT  r     The  overland  trade  from  province   to 

m     J  province  varies  with   the  season,  the 

Trade  ^  i    .1         •  .  t 

crops    and    the    circumstances.     In    a 

single  day  I  met  not  less  than  thirty  men,  each 
carrying  in  baskets  from  four  to  ten  little  pigs. 
Evidently  the  crop  of.  pigs  had  been  short  in 
Lakawn,  or  unusually  abundant  in  Lampoon,  and 
there  was  a  profit  of  fifty  cents  each,  enough  to  pay 
for  the  journey.  In  March,  on  any  road  leading  out 
of  Pre,  there  are  many  men  loaded  with  Pre  cotton 
and  Pre  tobacco,  both  of  which  find  a  market  in  all 
the  other  provinces,  and  even  up  in  China.  About 
the  same  time  of  year  men  come  considerable  dis- 
tances to  purchase  brown  sugar  from  the  Me  Aouw 


Trade  and  Travel  93 

district  of  Chieng  Mai,  or  palm  sugar  from  the  Me 
Tah  valley.  Just  before  the  season  for  plowing 
begins,  men  carrying  plowshares  go  out  into  the 
country.  They  come  back  loaded  with  leeks  or 
peppers. 

Sales  are  usually  for  cash,  but  every  trader  wants 
a  profit  both  ways  on  his  journey,  so  he  invests  his 
proceeds  in  something  he  can  sell  in  his  home  dis- 
trict. Gongs  for  the  temples  and  bells  for  cattle, 
elephants  and  horses,  are  brought  from  Burma, 
brass  ware  from  China,  iron  from  Muang  Long, 
saltpeter  for  powder  from  the  caves  in  Ogre  Moun- 
tain. 

All.  through  the  season  when  the  roads  are  good 
and  farm  work  light,  multitudes  of  men  yield  to 
the  *'  wanderlust "  that  is  a  marked  feature  of 
Laos  life,  and  seek  profit  as  well  as  pleasure  in  a 
trading  expedition.  Although  maps  are  practically 
unknown  to  the  common  people,  men  can  talk  in- 
telligently about  the  roads  in  every  direction  from 
their  homes,  often  for  hundreds  of  miles. 

Although    many    thus    journey    to    Burma    or 

China^  few  settle  there;  the  longing   for    his    own 

village,  no  less  strong  than  a  desire  to  see  the  world, 

draws  the  Laos  man  back  to  his  native  hills. 

^  ,  It  remains  to  speak  of  the  boat 

Down  the  .      ,  ,     ,  ^u        • 

p.        u     -R     4.      trade    up    and    down    the    river. 

^  The   rapids   that   render  the   Me 

Yom  wholly  unnavi'gable,  are  a  serious  obstacle  to 

navigation  in  all  the  branches    of    the    Me    Nam. 

This  boat  traffic  is  largest  on  the   Me   Ping,  the 


94  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

western  branch  of  the  Me  Nam  on  which  Chieng 
Mai  is  situated,  but  even  there,  no  boat  captain 
would  venture  down  the  river  with  a  full  load. 
Each  stage  of  water,  high  or  low,  has  its  peculiar 
difficulties  and  perils,  and  the  heavier  the  load  the 
more  serious  these  dangers  become.  Cocoanuts 
are  carried  down  and  marketed  in  the  lower  river. 
Boat  loads  of  hides  are  often  seen,  and  almost  every 
boat  carries  "  meeung,"  the  steamed  wild  tea  al- 
ready spoken  of,  which  is  used  in  lieu  of  small  coin 
to  purchase  supplies  along  the  river.  Lacquer 
ware,  stick-lac  and  other  gums  from  the  forests 
are  also  carried  down,  but  heavy  commodities  are 
rarely  seen  in  Laos  trading  boats  on  the  down- 
river trip. 

TVi    TT    P'  ^^    ^^^^    return,   the   boats    come 

^  .  loaded  to  the  gunwales  with  a  wide 

variety  of  European  goods,  with 
salt  fish  from  the  sea  and  lower  river,  with  Chinese 
bowls  and  Japanese  matches,  with  American  cot- 
ton and  kerosene  oil,  with  English  prints  and 
blankets,  with  India  muslins  and  German  cutlery, 
with  bicycles  and  sewing  machines.  Even  car- 
riages and  automobiles  are  sometimes  brought. 

And  whence  comes  the  money  to  pay  for  these 
goods?  Largely  from  the  rafts  of  teak  logs  that 
fill  the  lower  river,  and  load  hundreds  of  vessels 
each  year  for  Europe.  Teak  is  the  only  wood  so 
far  discovered  that  is  absolutely  impervious  to 
water.  Wash  down  a  teak  deck  with  fresh  water 
or  salt,  by  hand  or  by  the  dash  of  the  waves,  and 


Trade  and  Travel  95 

the  moment  it  is  drained,  it  is  dry.  For  decks,  no 
real  substitute  for  teak  has  been  found ;  and  the  in- 
creasing demand  for  it  for  main  and  promenade 
decks  of  ocean  liners  constantly  enhances  its  price 
in  the  world's  markets.  Her  forests  are  the  main 
wealth  of  Siam  and  especially  of  the  Laos  states. 

_      .  Foreisrners  who  have  been  resi- 

How  Foreigners      ,     ,    .    ^1.    t  ^  ^        1 

^        ,         °  dents  in  the  Laos   states  always 

Travel  ^  ^.  .        ,,  tt         j 

meet   the   question,      How    do 

you  travel?"  The  answer  may  vary  as  much  as 
the  tastes  and  circumstances  of  the  individual.  We 
travel  by  all  the  conveyances  that  have  been  men- 
tioned; by  boat,  by  elephant,  by  horse,  in  a  sedan 
chair,  on  foot;  our  effects  are  carried  by  boat,  by 
pack  horses,  pack  mules  or  bullocks,  by  elephants, 
or  most  frequently  of  all  by  men  who  carry  fifty  to 
sixty  pounds  each  in  baskets  over  their  shoulders. 
Travel  by  boat  is  well  described  in  Mrs.  Curtis' 
"  The  Laos  of  Northern  Siam."  To-day,  by  a  rail- 
way journey  of  two  days  and  an  overland  trip  of 
eight  to  twelve  days,  it  is  possible  to  avoid  the  long 
up-river  journey  that  usually  occupies  thirty  to 
fifty  days.  Still,  until  the  railway  is  completed  to 
Chieng  Mai,  all  freight  and  many  travelers  will  con- 
tinue to  take  the  slower  route.  Even  when  the  rail- 
way comes,  the  wonderful  scenery  of  the  rapids 
and  gorge  of  the  Me  Ping  will  still  attract  the 
traveler. 

ri^u  oi-'  r  I  shall  never  for^^et  my  first  journey 
The  Ship  of       .     T  ^     u     I       t^ 

J.-,  T^  J.  in  Laos  on  an  elephant.  It  was  mv 
the  Forest        ^    ^  .  V ,     .         ,,   ,  .        ' 

nrst  experience  with  these     ships  of 


gG  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

the  forest."  With  surprise,  I  saw  them  unhesi- 
tatingly climb  rocks  and  plunge  down  step  river 
banks  that  no  other  beast  of  burden  could  even  at- 
tempt. Their  care  and  sure-footedness  soon  took 
away  any  fear  of  accident.  In  the  comfortable 
howdah,  one  may  lie  down  at  full  length,  or  sit  and 
read  or  even  write,  if  he  will  but  accommodate  him- 
self to  the  slow  swing  of  the  elephant's  tread. 
However,  after  the  novelty  wears  off,  most  travel- 
ers prefer  to  ride  a  pony,  for  a  good  walker  will 
easily  keep  ahead  of  a  company  of  elephants.  The 
young  bamboo  is  a  favorite  food  of  these  great 
beasts,  and  it  is  amusing  to  see  your  monster  break 
off  a  stem  some  inches  in  diameter  and  a  dozen 
feet  in  length,  and  contentedly  munch  it  as  he 
marches  along,  as  a  child  would  a  stick  of  candy. 
In  passing  through  the  forests,  a  supply  of  the 
elephant's  natural  food,  bamboo,  coarse  grass, 
banana  stalk  and  palm  leaves  is  usually  at  hand. 
Their  forefeet  hobbled  together  with  a  chain,  they 
seldom  wander  far  from  camp,  but  if  frightened  or 
drawn  on  in  search  of  food,  or  by  wild  elephants 
in  the  neighborhood,  they  may  travel  long  dis- 
tances in  the  night,  and  lead  their  keepers  a  weary 
chase  while  the  traveler  waits  for  their  return.  If 
a  baby  elephant  be  in  the  company,  he  is  sure  to 
have  much  to  amuse,  sometimes  to  annoy  you. 

_-  -,  .  -  Few  horses  are  raised  in  Siam, 
The  Pomes  of  ,   ^,  ^      ,  ^     .  * 

«.  and  they  seem  to  degenerate  m 

that  hot  climate,  but  a  supply  of 

ponies  is  brought    down    from    China    each    year. 


Trade  and  Travel  97 

Varying  in  size  from  a  Shetland  pony  to  a  polo 
pony,  they  are  seldom  over  thirteen  hands  in 
height,  but  they  are  wiry,  active  little  beasts  with 
their  full  share  of  deviltry.  Year  in  and  year  out 
they  are  our  most  common  and  most  reliable  means 
of  transport.  Even  when  rains  swell  the  streams, 
they  will  patiently  swim  behind  the  ferryboat, 
ready  when  it  reaches  land  to  carry  us  on  to  the 
next  river.  Some  travelers  also  use  pack  horses  or 
pack  mules  to  carry  their  food,  bedding  and  other 
impedimenta.  Occasionally,  when  there  is  much 
freight  it  is  carried  at  so  much  a  hundred  by  cattle 
or  elephants,  but  the  ordinary  dependence  is  upon 
men  as  carriers.  They  can  always  be  had  on 
short  notice.  They  can  go  in  many  places 
where  the  track  is  impracticable  for  pack  animals, 
and  for  the  missionary  there  is  the  added  advan- 
age  that,  when  a  company  of  carriers  continues 
with  him  for  weeks,  he  has  a  peculiar  opportunity 
to  influence  their  hearts  and  lives  for  Christ. 
Many  of  our  Christian  men  received  their  first  im- 
pressions of  the  truth,  as  they  helped  carry  the 
"  kit "  of  some  missionary  on  his  evangelistic  tours. 


CHAPTER    IX 

GOVERNMENT    PAST    AND    PRESENT    AMONG    THE    LAOS 

«  -n  •<.  »»  Until  1886  when  the  British  were  com- 
pelled  by  Burmese  misrule  to  take 
upper  Burma,  "  dacoity,"  or  robbery  by  bands  of 
cutthroats,  was  common  in  Burmese  territory.  In 
other  words,  no  small  part  of  the  Burmans  lived  by 
plundering  their  more  peaceable  neighbors.  Even 
earlier  than  this,  the  firm  hand  of  British  rule  had 
gradually  narrowed  the  limits  of  these  bandits,  but 
only  when  Mandalay  fell  was  it  possible  to  suppress 
dacoity  entirely.  Forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  seldom 
a  year  passed  when  some  company  of  bandits  did 
not  gather  among  the  almost  inaccessible  moun- 
tains along  the  eastern  border  of  Burma,  swoop 
down  on  some  unsuspecting  Laos  valley,  drive  oflf 
the  cattle,  carry  off  men  and  women  to  a  life  of 
slavery,  burn  the  villages,  and  carry  terror  to  an 
area  far  wider  than  the  actual  scene  of  their  depre- 
dations. 
^,      _  Although  the  Laos  are  a  peaceable  agri- 

-  cultural    people,    when    once    aroused 

in  Arms        .  f     f    ^  .  ^       t 

they  are  no  mean  antagonists.  In  re- 
cent years,  a  Laos  constabulary,  organized  and 
drilled  by  foreign  officers,  has  shown  itself  admir- 

98 


Government  Past  and  Present  99 

able  in  discipline  and  in  other  soldierly  qualities, 
and  has  done  much  to  render  life  and  property  se- 
cure in  the  Laos  states  of  Siam.  In  the  past  as 
well,  given  time  to  rally  and  oppose  their  enemies, 
the  Laos  villagers  often  defeated  them  and  drove 
them  back.  A  narrow  glen — one  of  the  wildest 
and  most  beautiful  I  have  ever  seen — that  leads  up 
to  a  pass  in  the  mountains  west  of  the  city  of  Nan 
is  known  as  "  Hooie  See  Pun,"  the  "  Ravine  of  the 
Four  Thousand."  The  story  goes  that  four  thou- 
sand Burmans,  on  plunder  bent,  were  met  and 
annihilated  in  this  defile  by  the  men  of  Nan. 

_       .        -     In  such  raids  as  these,  whole  villa8:es 

Results  of  •      -,       .        ^-  11         1 

^       .  were  wiped  out,  entire  valleys  depopu- 

^  lated,  for  not  only  were  many  killed 

by  the  robbers  or  carried  off  as  slaves,  but  the 
survivors  fled  to  the  forests  and  dared  not  re- 
turn. There,  jungle  fever,  dysentery  and  other 
diseases,  due  to  exposure,  carried  off  children 
and  adults  by  the  score.  Often  the  stock  of  rice 
was  burned,  and,  since  the  cattle  were  driven  off 
or  killed,  the  survivors  could  not  work  their  fields. 
Famine  followed  in  the  wake  of  war.  A  hundred 
and  forty  years  ago,  a  Burmese  army  plundered 
and  burned  the  cities  of  Chieng  Mai  and  Lampoon, 
and  for  fifty  years  after  that  raid  that  whole  plain, 
the  largest  and  richest  in  the  Laos  states,  was  al- 
most depopulated.  A  later  raid,  this  time  by  the 
Siamese,  destroyed  Chieng  Rai,  and  the  old  Laos 
capital,  Chieng  Saan.  Chieng  Saan  has  never  been 
rebuilt,  and  Chieng  Rai  is  only  now  recovering. 


100  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

p  The  Laos  tribes  and  princes  retaliated 

^  .,  when  they  could.     A  successful  raid  to 

the  north  and  west  headed  by  the  king 
of  Chieng  Mai  brought  many  captives  back  to  help 
repopulate  the  Chieng  Mai  Lampoon  plain.  Half 
the  people  of  Lampoon  province  to-day  are  de- 
scendants of  these  subjects  of  the  King  of  Burma 
who  were  thus  brought  down  from  the  region  of 
Keng  Tung.  Kun  and  Yawng,  they  are  called,  but 
they  are  Laos  all,  differing  only  very  slightly  in 
speech,  in  customs,  or  in  dress,  from  the  other 
people  of  the  plain. 
^,  The  forced  immigrants  of  whom  I  have 

just  spoken  were  not  held  as  slaves, 
though  slavery  has  always  been  common  through- 
out Indo-China.  The  lot  of  a  slave  has  not  usually 
been  a  hard  one,  for  he  was  usually  given  a  home 
he  could  call  his  own  and  time  to  cultivate  a  piece 
of  land.  Sometimes,  for  months  together,  his  lord 
would  not  "  call  "  him ;  again  his  time  might  be 
wholly  occupied  in  the  service  of  his  master.  In 
the  latter  case,  the  slave  usually  received  some 
slight  money  compensation,  or  its  equivalent  in  a 
present.  Three  kinds  of  slaves  have  been  rec- 
ognized by  law:  hereditary  slaves,  slaves  taken  in 
war  and  debt  slaves.  Debt  slaves  have  always 
been  able  to  redeem  themselves,  though  the  pro- 
cess was  made  so  difficult  that  few  succeeded  in 
doing  so  until  a  generation  ago.  Increasing  pros- 
perity, the  influence  of  foreigners  who  have  often 
paid  redemption  money  and  allowed  the  debtor  to 


Government  Past  and  Present  loi 

work  it  out,  together  with  some  change  in  the  laws, 
have  steadily  improved  conditions.  A  number  of 
years  ago,  the  enlightened  King  of  Siam  declared 
that  all  children  born  of  slave  parents  after  that 
date  should  be  free,  but  this  provision  has  never 
been  fully  enforced  in  the  Laos  states.  The 
"  chow,"  or  native  princes,  are  the  principal  slave- 
holders and,  naturally,  since  they  are  the  judges, 
every  obstacle  has  been  placed  in  the  way  of 
emancipation.  Still,  as  Siamese  rule  has  become 
more  direct  in  the  north,  slavery  is  fast  disappear- 
ing. 

-J   .  Forty    years    ago    misgovernment    at 

T^         .  home   made   worse   the   insecurity   of 

life  and  property  due  to  robber  raids. 
At  that  time,  and  to  a  less  extent  even  ten  years 
ago,  it  was  unwise  for  a  Laos  "  man  of  the  people  " 
to  betray  in  any  way  the  possession  of  property. 
If  he  built  a  better  house,  or  a  new  rice  bin,  if  he 
acquired  more  cattle  than  were  necessary  to  work 
his  bit  of  rice  plain,  only  a  generous  bribe  to  the 
petty  prince,  or  "  chow,"  on  whom  he  was  depend- 
ent, could  save  him  from  ruinous  taxation  or  a 
forced  loan.  If  his  bananas  or  vegetables  were 
better  than  those  of  his  neighbors,  a  minion  of  the 
"chow"  was  almost  sure  to  stop  his  wife  or 
daughter  on  the  way  to  market,  and  relieve  her  of 
the  best  of  the  contents  of  her  baskets.  For  pro- 
duce thus  taken,  payment  was  seldom  made,  and 
there  was  no  redress.  His  person  was  hardly  more 
safe  than  his  property. 


102  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

The  Laos  are  often  called  lazy,  un- 
-  justly,  I  think.     No  man  who  is  not 

compelled  to  do  so,  works  regularly 
if  he  does  not  expect  to  receive  the  fruit  of  his 
labor.  When  the  conditions  I  have  just  described 
were  prevalent,  what  possible  motive  was  there 
for  industry  or  thrift?  Conditions  have  changed, 
but  the  habits  of  a  lifetime  are  difficult  to  change. 
The  older  men  are  still  indolent,  but  a  spirit  of  in- 
dustry and  thrift  has  grown  greatly  among  the 
younger  men  in  the  past  fifteen  years.  Now  well- 
built  frame  houses  with  tile  roofs  are  to  be  found 
in  almost  every  village,  better  vegetables  and  fruits 
are  in  the  markets,  a  better  quality  of  foreign 
goods  is  demanded;  the  whole  country  is  more 
prosperous.  These  advances  have  been  brought 
about  largely  by  the  change  in  governmental  con- 
ditions noted  in  the  next  paragraphs. 

n^i_  A^i  J  Up  to  1828  the  Laos  princes  ruled  their 
The  Old        ^  1        A.        •    ^-  .1  -J 

_.   .  own  people.    At  various  times  they  paid 

^  tribute,  or  sent  presents,  to  Burma,  to 

Cambodia,  to  Pegu,  to  the  Kings  of  Siam;  not  in- 
frequently to  two  or  more  of  them  at  the  same  time. 
One  district  and  its  people,  now  ruled  by  Great 
Britain,  derives  its  name,  "  Sam  Tow  '*  (or  "  Three 
Allegiances ")  from  the  fact  that  it  sent  tribute 
more  or  less  regularly  to  Burma,  to  China  and  to 
Siam.  These  various  claims  of  their  neighbors  had 
never  been  effectively  or  continuously  enforced. 
The  princes  themselves  probably  looked  on  the  gifts 
sent  merely  as  a  sort  of  insurance.     Had  a  real 


Government  Past  and  Present  103 

leader  arisen,  he  might  have  built  up  a  permanent 
and  independent  Laos  empire,  but  whether  in  war 
or  in  peace,  the  Laos  have  never  long  been  united. 
At  different  times,  the  King  of  Chieng  Saan,  of 
Lampoon,  of  Sawankaloke,  of  Bassak  or  of  Wieng 
Chan,  has  been  recognized  as  "  King  of  the  Laos," 
but  usually  for  only  a  short  time  consecutively. 

About  one  hundred  years  ago,  the  King  of  Wieng 
Chan,  a  city  on  the  Cambodia  River,  some  three 
hundred  miles  northeast  of  Bangkok,  was  regarded 
by  the  Siamese,  justly,  perhaps,  as  the  King  of  all 
the  Laos.  He  had  at  times  given  tribute  or  pres- 
ents to  the  King  of  Siam.  Later  he  refused  it. 
The  result  was  a  war,  in  1828,  in  which  the  city  of 
Wieng  Chan  was  destroyed  and  its  inhabitants 
carried  off  in  a  body  as  war  captives.  The  de- 
scendants of  these  captives  are  still  held  as  the 
slaves  of  Siam,  attached  to  the  royal  palace  and 
temples  in  Pechaburee.  (How  the  edicts  of  eman- 
cipation hav^  affected  them,  I  do  not  know.) 
_  .  .  -  The  Siamese  seem  to  have  claimed  that 
^.  the  capture  of  Wieng  Chan  gave  them 

P  -  authority  over  all  the  Laos.     Whether 

their  claim  be  based  on  that,  or  on 
previous  conditions,  matters  little:  the  fact  is  that 
most  of  the  Laos  states  have  pretty  regularly  ac- 
knowledged some  measure  of  subjection  to  Siam 
ever  since.  At  first,  little  more  than  the  right  of 
investiture  with  golden  betel  box  and  other  in- 
signia of  authority,  and  stated  visits  of  ceremony  to 
Bangkok    with    certain    formal    presents,   was    re- 


104  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

quired  of  the  princes  in  the  north.  Even  these 
shadowy  signs  of  subjection  were  never  regularly- 
enforced  east  and  north  of  the  Cambodia  River,  or 
north  of  Chieng  Saan.  Still  the  King  of  Siam  at 
times  claimed  sovereignty  all  the  way  to  the  bor- 
ders of  China. 
_        .  Over  the  nearer  Laos  states,  Siamese 

,     _  .  authority  was   gradually   more   effec- 

the  Lmes      ^.     ,       •"  ,         .      ^p        : 
_  tively    enforced.     Twenty    years    ago, 

the  power  of  life  and  death  had  al- 
ready been  taken  from  the  Laos  princes,  and  a 
Siamese  official,  known  to  English  residents  as  the 
Siamese  commissioner,  was  located  at  the  capital 
of  each  province.  Nominally  merely  the  adviser  of 
the  Laos  ruler,  these  commissioners  gradually 
drew  closer  the  bonds  that  united  the  Laos  states 
to  the  kingdom  of  Siam.  In  1895,  when  the  writer 
first  went  to  Nan,  the  authority  of  the  Siamese 
commissioner  in  that  province  was  still  rather 
shadowy,  though  even  then  orders  from  Bangkok 
were  rapidly  becoming  the  real  power  in  Chieng 
Mai  and  Lakawn.  Opposition  to  Siamese  author- 
ity and  methods  was  the  real  cause  of  the  so-called 
"  Shan  Rebellion  "  in  1902,  but  the  suppression  of 
that  uprising  was  the  occasion  for  measures  that 
have  made  Siamese  rule  effective  in  every  hamlet 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  kingdom. 

TN-rc     1^-  Doubtless  the  Laos  people  are  to-day 

Difficulties  ,               •             i       o- 

-  ^,  more   or   less   restive   under   Siamese 

of  the  1        XT                      1  .1    •    • 

^,.  rule.     However  good  their  intentions, 

Siamese   officials   are   dealing   with   a 

people  who  look  on  them  as  foreigners,  and  who  do 


Governinent  Past  and  Present  105 

not  appreciate  that  many  of  the  acts  of  these  for- 
eigners are  for  their  own  real  advantage.  For 
instance,  when  roads  are  planned,  they  are  made 
by  men  who  see  only  the  hardship  of  enforced  un- 
paid labor,  often  far  from  home,  and  at  a  season 
when  their  own  interests  suffer  by  their  absence. 
Moreover,  owning  to  the  lack  of  intelligent  admin- 
istrators, few  enough  under  any  government,  rules 
for  the  direction  of  these  workmen  must  sometimes 
be  enforced  to  the  letter,  if  they  are  to  be  enforced 
at  all.  A  rule  good  in  the  main  often  involves  un- 
necessary labor  and  hardship  where  an  admiin- 
istrator  with  discretion  as  to  details  could  modify 
it  to  advantage.  Only  as  we  realize  the  difficulties 
under  which  it  labors,  can  we  appreciate  the  real 
results  of  Siamese  rule.  What  have  some  of  these 
results  been? 

_       ^  First.  Life  and  property  in  the  Laos 

Beneficent  ^  ^                                      .1             j 

_       ,        p  states  are  more  secure  than  under 

Results  of  .1,          1         r    ^u 

-^  ,  the   rule    of    the    native    prmces. 

Siamese  Rule  r^  ..               .  ^.                 ,  .^f           , 

rolice   regulations   are   better  and 

better  enforced.  The  Laos  constabulary  or 
gendarmerie,  trained  under  Danish  officers,  is 
an  increasingly  efficient  body  of  men.  Enforce- 
m^ent  of  a  uniform  law,  instead  of  the  different  laws 
of  several  states,  has  in  itself  brought  better  order. 
The  Siamese  law  is  not  in  all  respects  an  improve- 
ment; especially  as  regards  marriage  and  the 
family,  the  old  Laos  customs  were  better.  We 
may  hope  that  the  recently  enacted  criminal  code, 
which  seeks  to  adapt  to  the  East  the  best  in  the 
laws  of  the  West,  may  prove  better  than  either. 


io6  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

The  new  courts,  too,  are  far  better  than  the  old. 
Far  from  perfect,  of  course,  they  are  good  in  prin- 
ciple and  fairly  well  administered.  On  the  whole, 
then,  life  and  property  are  more  secure  than  under 
the  old  regime. 

Second.  The  country  is  more  prosperous.  Taxes 
and  exactions,  especially  enforced  labor,  may  at 
times  bear  hard  on  the  people.  Public  improve- 
ments may  have  been  pushed  faster  than  was  wise, 
involving  serious  hardship  to  many.  Pay  promised 
for  labor  has  in  some  cases  not  been  forthcoming. 
The  fact  remains  that  taxes  are  more  uniform,  more 
certain  and  more  just,  than  under  the  rule  of  the 
princes.  Prosperity  and  a  sense  of  security  are 
shown  in  the  better  houses  that  are  everywhere 
being  built.  Better  methods  of  agriculture,  better 
facilities  for  transport  and  trade,  have  come  with 
new  roads. 

Third.  Good  beginnings  have  been  made  in  pub- 
lic education,  in  the  suppression  of  slavery  and 
gambling,  in  systems  of  account  and  record,  in  all 
that  constitutes  the  outward  forms  of  modern  civil- 
ization. The  king  and  his  advisers  have  made  mis- 
takes, but  the  fact  remains  that  His  Majesty  the 
King  of  Siam  is  justly  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most 
progressive  and  wisest  statesmen  in  Asia ;  that  the 
changes  quietly  introduced  and  effectively  carried 
out  by  the  Siamese  in  the  north  during  the  last 
twenty  years  are  a  marvel  to  one  who  has  seen 
both  the  old  regime  and  the  new. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE   COMING   OF   THE   GOSPEL 

The  Pioneers      ^"^    ^''''^    ^°'    '^5^'    ^"^'^    ^°''''" 
Americans  landed  together  at  the 

port  of  Bangkok,  Siam,  who  were  destined  to  con- 
tinue for  more  than  fifty  years  in  that  far-away 
tropical  land  associations  begun  in  student  days  in 
Princeton.  They  were  Rev.  Daniel  McGilvary  and 
Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson,  both  of  whom,  after  fifty- 
one  years  of  service  in  the  Land  of  the  White 
Elephant,  are  still  (1909)  actively  engaged  in  the 
work  they  love.  Ere  we  trace  the  later  history, 
let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  conditions  of 
missionary  work  in  Siam  when  they  reached  Bang- 
kok in  1858. 

T>     .     .  -      While  the   spates   of   China  were 

Beginnings  of        ^.„     ,       j  ^         •    •  re    4. 

M      *       W    ir  closed  to   missionary   eitort, 

.     o.  both  the   Baptist  and  the  Amer- 

in  Siam  .         ,        ,  ^       •    •         •       ^ 

lean  boards   sent  missionaries  to 

work   among  the   Chinese   residents   of   Bangkok. 

The    Baptists   have   in   a   measure   continued   this 

work  among  the  Chinese,  and  have  to-day  several 

Chinese  and  Peguan-speaking  churches  in  and  near 

Bangkok.     However,  when  the  doors  of  China  were 

opened,  most  of  these  workers  were  transferred  to 

that  empire.     In  1818,  Mrs.  Ann  Hazeltine  Judson 

set  herself  to  acquire  the  Siamese  language  and 

107 


io8  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

translated  a  catechism  and  the  Gospel  of  Matthew 

into  that  tongue.     It  was  printed  at  Serampore  the 

following  year,  but  for  a  long  time  thereafter  Siam 

was  still  regarded  mainly  as  a  point  of  approach  to 

China. 

,-..    .         ,  The    first    missionaries    to    direct 

Missions    to  ^^      '  rr       ^  •     i        ^       ^1         C" 

.     ^.  their  efforts  mainly  to  the  Siamese 

the  Siamese        _,,  .  ^  i     ^.i,     a 

themselves  were  sent  by  the  Amer- 
ican board.  D.  B.  Bradley,  M.  D.,  whose  long, 
varied  and  fruitful  labors  in  Siam  entitle  him  to 
be  considered  the  father  of  missions  there,  reached 
Bangkok  in  1835,  and  continued  in  the  work  until 
his  death  in  1873.  At  that  time  (1835),  the  Amer- 
ican board  drew  its  support  and  its  missionaries 
from  Presbyterian  as  well  as  Congregational 
churches,  and  later,  when  the  fields  of  labor  were 
divided,  responsibility  for  the  evangelization  o'£ 
Siam  and  its  people  was  assumed  by  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  Therefore,  though  several  of  the 
earliest  and  most  influential  of  the  early  mission- 
aries were  Congregationalists,  it  is  generally  rec- 
ognized that  the  Laos  as  well  as  the  Siamese  are 
peculiarly  a  Presbyterian  field.  Practically  no 
other  church  is  at  work  there. 

,  Before    Messrs.    McGIlvary    and 

Missons  and  ,,..,  •     j  •     o-  1      1 

.  1  -p  Wilson  arrived  in  Siam,  schools 

^  had  been  opened  for  both  boys 

and  girls,  and  medical  work  had  helped  to  open  the 
doors.  Perhaps  the  most  far-reaching  result  of  the 
work  had  been  due  to  the  fact  that  Rev.  Jesse  Cas- 
well was  invited  to  act  for  some  years  as  the  tutor 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  109 

of  the  prince  who  afterwards  became  King  of  Siam. 
While  neither  he  nor  his  son,  the  present  progres- 
sive ruler  of  Siam,  accepted  Christianity,  they  al- 
ways showed  the  utmost  friendliness  to  the  mission- 
aries and  their  work,  and  they  sought  and  followed 
their  advice  in  the  effort  to  bring  morals  and  social 
conditions  in  Siam  into  line  with  the  best  standards 
the  West  has  to  offer.  The  abolition  of  slavery, 
vaccination,  the  institution  of  public  hospitals  and 
schools,  and  the  abolition  of  public  gambling,  are 
some  of  the  changes  that  are  traceable  in  no  small 
measure  to  the  influence  of  American  missionaries. 
As  a  Siamese  prince  expressed  it,  "  Siam  has  been 
opened  to  the  world,  not  by  the  guns  of  western 
nations,  but  by  the  American  missionaries." 

_,     c*-^     ^'  In  1858,  while  very  few  had  openly 

The  Situation  .  j  ^1    •  .   /•     r    .    .u        • 

accepted  Christ  (m  fact,  the  mis- 
sionaries who  arrived  in  1858  wit- 
nessed the  baptism  of  the  first  Siamese  convert), 
influences  had  nevertheless  been  set  at  work  that 
have  profoundly  affected  the  morals  and  policies  of 
Siam  ever  since.  The  organized  work  of  the  mis- 
sion at  that  time  was  still  confined  to  the  capital 
itself,  and  Mr.  McGilvary,  in  association  with  Rev. 
S.  G.  McFarland,  was  privileged  in  1861  to  share 
in  opening  at  Petchaburee,  ninety  miles  west  of 
Bangkok,  the  first  outside  station.  He  soon  came 
in  contact  there  with  the  Laos  captives  who,  at  the 
capture  of  Wieng  Chan  in  1828,  had  been  brought 
down  as  war  captives  and  attached  as  serfs  to  the 
royal  palace  and  temples  at  Petchaburee.     Becom- 


no  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

ing  interested  in  them,  his  heart  went  out  in  the 
desire  to  carry  the  gospel  to  their  brethren  in  the 
far-away  north  country.  He  asked  and  obtained 
permission  from  the  mission  and  from  the  Siamese 
Government  to  visit  the  Laos  states  in  1863.  He 
came  back  fully  determined  to  follow  God's  leading 
into  that  distant  land.  Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson 
joined  him  in  the  request  to  the  mission  and  to  the 
board  at  home  for  permission  to  begin  work  in 
Chieng  Mai,  then  as  now,  the  largest  city  in  the 
Laos  states.  The  permission  was  granted.  April 
Opening  of  I,  1867,  found  Rev.  Daniel  McGil- 
the  Laos  vary  with  Mrs.  McGilvary  and  two 

Mission  children    in    Chieng    Mai,    and    Rev. 

Jonathan  Wilson  and  Mrs.  Wilson  joined  them  a 
year  later.  That  first  year  was  one  of  much  trial 
and  yet  of  great  opportunity.  Until  more  per- 
manent quarters  could  be  obtained,  the  King  of 
Chieng  Mai  granted  them  the  use  of  a  "  sala  "  or 
rest  house  in  the  market  place.  There,  under  the 
shade  of  a  spreading  banyan  tree,  surrounded  by 
all  the  confusion  of  an  eastern  market  place,  in  a 
building  that  afforded  little  privacy,  and  imperfect 
protection  from  the  rays  of  a  tropical  sun,  the  first 
year  was  passed.  Visitors  were  constant  and  seed 
was  sown  that  brought  forth  fruit,  not  in  Chieng 
Mai  alone,  but  in  distant  provinces  as  well. 
The  Laos  Messrs.  Wilson  and  McGilvary,  hav- 

Language  vs     '""^   ^'""^^   ^""'^   "'""^   ^^^""^   '"^   ^""^^"^ 

the  Siamese  *    f^"^^     T'"     ^""^'^t'.    "^''^     ^^' 
biamese  language.     Then,  as  now. 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  m 

the  Siamese  claimed  suzerainty  over  the  Laos,  and 
there  was  an  increasing  use  of  the  Siamese  lan- 
guage and  desire  to  learn  it  among  the  people. 
Much  of  the  Bible  had  already  been  translated  into 
Siamese,  and  missionary  work  was  begun  through 
the  medium  of  that  language.  Indeed,  for  many 
years  it  w^as  assumed  that  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  into  the  Laos  language  was  unnecessary. 
But  as  a  Christian  Laos  community  grew  up,  the 
demand  for  a  Laos  Christian  literature  grew  in  force 
and  urgency.  Not  only  are  the  differences  in  vo- 
cabulary, word  forms  and  idiom,  very  considerable, 
but  the  written  character  is  wholly  different.  After 
some  years,  Laos  type  was  devised,  and  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  the  opening  of  the  mission  was 
marked  by  the  publication  of  Matthew  and  a 
catechism  in  the  Laos  character.  While  the  use  of 
Siamese  is  now  rapidly  increasing  among  the  Laos 
people  in  Siam,  those  outside  the  borders  of  Siam — 
more  than  half  of  all  the  Laos  people — know  noth- 
ing of  Siamese.  The  mission  press  at  Chieng  Mai 
is  the  only  establishment  in  the  world  that  can  now 
print  the  Laos  character,  and  the  work  it  does  for 
the  government  with  the  sale  of  our  own  literature, 
makes  it  entirely  self-supporting.  The  day  is  prob- 
ably far  distant  when  the  Siamese  language  will 
replace  that  of  the  Laos  in  our  work. 

TT  TXT  1  The  first  missionaries  did  not  find 
How  Work      -.„  .    , 

T,  differences    of    lane^uasre    a    serious 

Began  . 

barrier,  but  quickly  found  a  way  to 

the  hearts  of  the  kindly  Laos  race.     Prediction  of 


112  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

an  eclipse  helped  to  break  one  of  the  common  super- 
stitions, and  led  to  the  conversion  of  Nan  Inta,  the 
first  Laos  man  to  receive  Christian  baptism.  Vac- 
cination, the  use  of  quinine  and  other  simple 
remedies,  and  kindness  shown  to  the  sick,  won  the 
confidence  of  others.  But  conversation  with  the 
visitors  that  crowded  their  homes,  as  well  as  with 
those  whom  the  missionaries  visited  in  their  own 
homes — quiet  personal  evangelism — was  the  means 
most  used  of  God  to  bring  the  Laos  people  to 
Christ.  Bazaar  preaching,  or  any  preaching  to 
large  crowds,  has  never  been  a  prominent  feature 
of  work  among  the  Laos.  School  work  was  soon 
begun  for  the  children  of  those  who  had  shown  in- 
terest in  the  gospel,  but  then  as  now,  few  children 
from  non-Christian  homes  were  enrolled  in  the 
schools.  A  Christian  primary  school  within  the 
reach  of  every  Christian  Laos  boy  or  girl  has  been 
our  aim,  and  even  in  our  higher  schools  few  "  out- 
siders "  are  enrolled,  and  but  little  effort  has  been 
put  forth  to  make  our  schools  a  direct  evangelizing 
agency.  However,  this  has  been  due  to  the  lack  of 
sufficient  teaching  force,  rather  than  to  a  distinct 
policy  of  the  mission. 

"Dr.McGilvary's  ^''L'^T  ^^^u  ^''  ^'l""^^' 
Long  Tours  "  McGilvary  began  the  long 

tours  that  took  him  within  five 
or  six  years  into  every  Laos  province  where  organ- 
ized work  has  since  been  done.  Till  he  was  past 
seventy  years  of  age,  his  rule  was  to  spend  the  dry 
season  of  each  year  in  a  tour  to  distant  provinces, 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  113 

or  outlying  districts  where  the  gospel  had  not  yet 
been  heard,  or  where  he  could  reach  some  visitor 
to  his  home  in  Chieng  Mai  who  had  gone  back  with 
some  knowledge  of  the  truth.  In  these  journeys 
he  explored  a  territory  larger  than  Indiana  and 
Ohio  combined,  that  had  been  up  to  that  time  prac- 
tically unknown  to  the  world.  The  writer  will 
never  forget  the  return  of  Dr.  McGilvary  from  the 
last  and  perhaps  the  longest  of  these  long  tours. 
He  had  seen  the  vision  of  French  Laos  won  for 
Christ  as  never  before,  but  had  been  compelled  by 
opposition  from  the  government  to  relinquish  most 
promising  work  there  for  the  time,  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  rains.  For  more  than  a  month  on 
the  return  journey  he  was  never  long  dry  by  day, 
often  not  at  night;  again  and  again  he  swam  his 
horse  over  the  swollen  streams,  and  it  is  a  marvel 
how  the  Master  preserved  the  life  and  health  of 
his  aged  servant  on  that  long  and  perilous  journey. 
We  hope  that  soon  his  own  story  of  those  pioneer 
days  and  journeys  may  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
church. 
p  .         Though    trials    and    hardships    had 

,  T^      ,         from  the  first  been  faced  both  by  the 
and  Death  .    .         .  jt    u      ^u 

missionaries  and  by  the  new  con- 
verts, open  persecution  did  not  arise  until  seven 
converts  had  been  baptized  and  many  others  had 
shown  a  deep  interest  in  the  gospel  message.  The 
King  of  Chieng  Mai  had  favored  the  coming  of  the 
missionaries,  and  promised  to  his  suzerain,  the 
King  of  Siam,  to  protect  them;  he  rather  suddenly 


114  ^^  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

became  a  bitter  opponent  of  the  work.  Dr.  McGil- 
vary  called  upon  him  to  ask  the  reason  of  this  op- 
position. The  answer  was  in  substance,  *'  Go  on, 
teaching  if  you  will,  I  cannot  prevent  it;  but  just  as 
soon  as  any  of  my  people  accept  your  religion,  off 
go  their  heads."  The  story  of  that  persecution  will 
appear  at  length  in  the  memoirs  Dr.  McGilvary 
will  soon  publish.  The  king  did  kill  two  of  the 
seven  Christians,  and  would  have  killed  the  rest 
had  they  not  hidden  or  fled.  They  were  "  all  scat- 
tered abroad  except  the  apostles "  (the  mission- 
aries), but,  "they  that  were  scattered  abroad  went 
about  preaching  the  word,"  quietly  and  secretly, 
indeed,  but  none  the  less  effectively.  The  boldness 
of  the  martyrs  in  the  face  of  death  and  their  unfal- 
tering witness  for  Christ,  had  influenced  their  very 
executioners. 

-,      1  .  Thousfh  the  lives  of  the  mission- 

Proclamation  .     ^  .  ,  .         . 

-  T-,  ,.   .  aries    were    for    a    long    time    m 

of  Religious  J  J     ^u       t,    lu 

T  .1-  ^  ^  ^i_  danger,  and  though  they  were 
Liberty  to  the  ^^  '  ...      ^  ,       ^/;     ,. 

J  ''  urged   to   withdraw   for  the   time, 

they  still  remained  at  their  post. 
God's  hand  was  laid  on  the  persecuting  king  and 
within  a  year  he  was  dead.  The  daughter  who  suc- 
ceeded him  was  more  favorable  to  mission  work, 
and  both  she  and  her  consort  were  to  the  end 
warmly  friendly  to  the  missionaries.  Still  a  crisis 
came  again  in  1878,  when  two  Christians  whose 
relatives  were  still  demon-worshipers,  wished  to 
marry  without  the  customary  offerings  to  the 
demons.    An  appeal  was  finally  made  to  the  King 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  115 

of  Siam.  His  answer  was  the  "  Proclamation  of 
Religious  Liberty  to  the  Laos,"  that  has  since  been 
to  the  Laos  Christians  the  charter  of  their  liberties. 
While  there  have  since  been  several  cases  of  long 
imprisonment  on  false  charges  and  many  cases  of 
petty  persecutions,  and  while  even  to-day  the  lot  of 
the  new  Christian  is  often  far  from  easy,  open  per- 
secution has  ceased. 
-         ,      .  An  early — perhaps  the  earliest — be- 

.     ^     .  liever  amons:  the  Laos,  though  bap- 

tne  Lords  ..      t   1  .      ^1  xt, 

tized   later   than    some   others,   was 

San  Ya  We  Chai,  a  resident  in  Chieng  Saan,  an  old 
capital  of  the  Laos,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
north  and  east  of  Chieng  Mai.  He  had  been  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  the  "rest  house"  in  the  market 
place  in  Chieng  Mai  during  the  first  year  of  Dr. 
McGilvary's  work.  At  that  time,  business  had 
kept  him  temporarily  in  that  city.  By  word  of 
mouth,  and  through  the  printed  Siamese  Scriptures 
which  he  could  read  with  some  difficulty,  he  had 
gained  some  definite  knowledge  and  conviction  of 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  On  his  return  to  his 
home  in  the  north,  he  became  the  nucleus  and 
leader  of  a  circle  of  believers  in  the  old  capital.  A 
few  years  later  Dr.  McGilvary  visited  him  there, 
and  organized  into  a  Christian  church  the  group  of 
believers  in  Chieng  Saan — the  first  church  at  a  dis- 
tance from  Chieng  Mai.  Out  of  that  little  band 
have  grown  the  six  organized  churches  within  the 
bounds  of  Chieng  Rai  station.  Even  before  a  mis- 
sionary was  resident  there,  the  membership  had  be- 


ii6  An  Oriental  Land  o£  the  Free 

come  three  hundred.  No  other  part  of  the  Laos 
field  is  showing  to-day  as  rapid  and  vigorous 
growth  as  that  district.  This  is  partly  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  rapidly  filling  up  by  immigration  from 
more  crowded  districts;  for  released  in  a  measure 
from  the  restraint  of  custom  and  kinship,  the  im- 
migrant is  peculiarly  open  to  new  truth.  A  part  of 
the  growth  is  also  due  to  the  fact  that,  from  the 
first,  the  spirit  of  that  church  has  been  peculiarly 
self-helpful. 

.      .         In   1871,  C.  W.  Vrooman,  M.  D., 
Strengthenmg     o  .      /   '        ,       ,       ,      .    ' 
f h     <sf  k  jomed    the    band    of    pioneers    m 

Chieng  Mai,  and  definite  organized 
medical  missionary  w^ork  was  begun  there.  Al- 
though Dr.  Vrooman  remained  but  two  years,  he 
shared  in  at  least  one  of  Dr.  McGilvary's  long  tours 
and  so  carried  to  distant  provinces  some  knowledge 
of  foreign  medicine.  Marion  A.  Cheek,  M.  D., 
succeeded  him,  and  was  instrumental  in  gathering 
the  means  for  a  hospital  building. 

The  recovery  from  the  eft'ects  of  the  persecution 
was  at  first  slow,  but  eventually — as  in  other  lands 
— the  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the 
church.  Some  time  since,  seventy-three  descend- 
ants, to  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  of  Noi 
Soonya,  one  of  the  martyrs,  were  on  the  rolls  of 
the  churches  in  Chieng  Mai  province.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  about  1885  that  accessions  to  the 
church  began  to  be  large.  The  membership  in- 
creased from  152  in  1884  to  1841  in  1894. 

During  these  years,  a   considerable  number  of 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  117 

native  evangelists  were  employed  by  the  mission, 
and  its  first  and  noblest  native  minister  was 
ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry.  Kroo  Nan  Ta 
had  been  for  years  the  favorite  of  the  king  among 
all  the  Buddhist  monks,  and  was  probably  the  most 
learned  among  them  all.  Even  after  he  became  a 
Christian,  any  question  of  Buddhist  philosophy  was 
apt  to  be  referred  to  him  by  his  old  associates.  Be- 
fore the  persecution  he  had  become  a  secret  be- 
liever, and  his  friendship  for  the  missionaries  was 
so  well  known  that  he  was  compelled  to  flee.  For 
nearly  ten  years  he  wandered  to  distant  lands.  As 
a  monk  he  had  practiced  the  sternest  austerities 
known  to  Buddhist  asceticism.  He  had  gone  once 
from  Chieng  Mai  to  Lampoon,  eighteen  miles, 
measuring  his  length  on  the  ground  like  a  measur- 
ing worm,  and  was  accounted  peculiarly  holy.  vStill 
his  heart  could  find  no  rest.  He  returned  to 
Chieng  Mai  and  declared  himself  a  follower  of 
Christ.  Already  a  learned  man  and  familiar  with 
the  Christian  Scriptures,  he  soon  became  the  right- 
hand  man  of  the  missionaries  in  evangelistic  work. 
With  tireless  energy  and  zeal  he  traveled  up  and 
down  the  land.  Welcomed  in  Buddhist  temples 
and  in  the  homes  of  princes  as  no  other  of  our 
evangelists  could  be,  he  was  no  less  welcome  in  the 
home  of  the  lowliest,  until  worn  out  in  his  labor 
of  love,  he  fell  asleep  in  1898. 

T3      J  ^    ^  In    1877,   a   venerable    man,   evi- 

Bread  Cast  on       ,     .1       r  1  •  1  , 

.,      ^xr  .  dently  of  high  rank,  came  to  the 

the  Waters  1      •  •        •      r-w         n/r  • 

physician   in   Chieng   Mai   asking 


ii8  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

medicine  for  his  deafness,  and  referred  to  the  cure 
Christ  had  wrought  on  a  deaf  man.  He  was  a  high 
official  at  the  court  in  Lakawn  who,  twenty  years 
before,  had  received  Christian  books  from  Dr. 
Bradley  in  Bangkok.  He  had  read  and  pondered, 
and,  so  far  as  he  could  understand,  had  given  in- 
ward assent  to  the  truth,  but  in  all  those  twenty 
years  of  steadfast  adherence  to  what  he  understood, 
he  had  found  no  one  to  teach  him.  The  skill  of 
the  physician  was  blessed  to  his  recovery.  He 
gave  his  heart  to  Christ  and  was  baptized,  the  first 
fruits  of  Lakawn  for  Christ.  As  soon  as  he  was 
known  to  be  a  Christian,  he  was  ordered  back  to 
Lakawn.  He  said,  "  If  they  want  to  kill  me  be- 
cause I  worship  Christ,  I  will  let  them  pierce  me." 
His  life  was  spared,  but  office,  wealth,  friends  and 
social  position  were  taken  away.  Yet  the  aged 
man  remained  firm.  His  consistent  stand  for 
Christ  led  the  missionaries  to  send  evangelists  to 
begin  work  in  his  province  of  Lakawn. 
Ci       -         £  ^^  i885>  Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson 

T    ,  o^  ^.  and     Dr.     and     Mrs.     Peoples 

Lakawn  Station  .    .  ,  ,         . 

opened  there  the  second  station 

of  the  Laos  mission.     Though  from  two  to  four 

missionary  families  have  been  at  work  there  now 

for    over   twenty   years,   and    promising   boarding 

schools  both  for  girls  and  for  boys,  as  well  as  most 

successful  medical  missionary  work,  have  helped  to 

sow  the  seed,  the  work  has  proved  harder  and  less 

immediately  fruitful  than  in  some  other  provinces. 

The  poverty  of  the  people,  due  to  repeated  crop 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  119 

failures  and  famine,  has  had  something  to  do  with 
this.  Still,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers  and 
means,  no  church  among  the  Laos  surpasses  the 
three  hundred  Christians  in  Lakawn  church  in  their 
gifts  to  the  work  of  the  Lord.  The  new  hospital 
and  new  buildings  for  the  schools  erected  by  the 
generosity  of  friends,  have  given  added  facilities 
for  all  departments  of  the  work.  Lakawn  is  the 
present  objective  point  of  the  railway  to  the  north, 
and  not  improbably  will  be  made  the  center  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  Laos  states  when  it  reaches  there. 
From  the  standpoint  of  mission  work,  as  well  as 
business  and  government,  Lakawn  is  likely  to  be 
relatively  more  important  in  the  future  than  in  the 
past.  Moreover,  it  is  hoped  that  the  reconstruction 
of  an  old  dam  and  system  of  ditches,  destroyed 
many  years  ago  in  a  great  flood,  has  removed  the 
danger  of  famine  that  has  hung  over  the  province 
for  a  generation. 

The  famine  of  1893  affected  not 
Famine  and  only  Lakawn  province,  but  Pre 

a  New  Station        as   well.     Considerable   sums   of 

money  were  sent  to  the  mission- 
aries to  be  used  In  the  relief  of  suffering.  Kindness 
thus  shown  opened  the  hearts  of  many  in  both  prov- 
inces to  the  gospel  message,  and  additions  to  the 
force  of  the  mission  that  year  made  it  possible  to 
open  a  new  station  in  Pre.  Circumstances  have 
interfered  with  the  steady  progress  of  work, 
and  no  missionary  has  for  several  years  re- 
sided there,  but  the  mission  feels  that  work  there 


120  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

must  be  pressed  and  expects  the  coming  year  to 

place  missionaries  once  more  in  that  inviting  field. 

,--    ,    .     -KT         As  early  as  1872,  and  several  times 
Work  in  Nan     .     ,  ^   "^  ^   '      .^  ^.,  , 

_       .  in  later  years,  Dr.  McGiIvary  and 

his  associates  visited  the  city  and 
province  of  Nan.  In  area  and  population  it  is  sec- 
ond only  to  Chieng  Mai  among  the  Laos  states  of 
Siam,  possibly  not  to  that.  Its  rulers  have  been 
the  noblest  of  the  Laos  princes,  men  of  dignity  and 
ability,  who  retained  longer  than  the  other  princes 
a  considerable  independence  of  Siamese  authority. 
More  conservative  than  other  provinces,  it  has  pre- 
sented some  special  difficulties  to  the  messengers 
of  the  cross.  In  1895  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples,  who 
had  shared  in  opening  the  work  in  Lakawn,  asked 
and  gained  the  consent  of  the  mission  to  open  in 
Nan  the  fourth  station.  At  present  the  church  in 
that  province  reports  a  membership  of  one  hundred 
and  ninety  with  five  out-stations.  The  church  that 
supports  Mrs.  Peoples  has  recently  supplemented 
the  gifts  of  the  native  church,  and  erected  there  a 
memorial  chapel  that  worthily  represents  the  gos- 
pel to  all  passers  by,  and  is  more  adequate  to  their 
needs  than  the  crowded  chapels  in  most  of  our 
stations  and  out-stations, 
p,  .         _  .      In  December,  1896,  the  mission  ap- 

and  the  £1.  t»t    -r^    . 

jj  .    -     Denman,  M.  D.,  to  open  the  station 

p.  .  -  in    Chieng    Rai    that    it    had    long 

planned  for.  Unlike  most  new  sta- 
tions, Chieng  Rai  was  not  a  new  field ;  it  was  one 
where  the  growth  of  the  work  from  small  begin- 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  121 

nings  had  become  too  large  and  too  important  to  be 
managed  at  long  range.  As  Mr.  Phraner  once  put 
it,  it  was  as  if  the  pastor  of  a  great  and  growing 
church  in  San  Francisco  should  reside  in  New 
York  and  be  able  to  make  to  it  only  brief  and  oc- 
casional visits.  The  growth  of  the  work  since  the 
opening  of  Chieng  Rai  as  a  station,  has  been  steady 
and  constant.  The  immigration  from  other  prov- 
inces to  repeople  the  districts  devastated  by  war 
early  in  the  century,  has  given  to  the  workers  there 
a  population  exceptionally  open  to  the  influences  of 
the  gospel.  Thus  in  1897  the  organized  work  of 
the  mission  had  measurably  covered  that  part  of, 
Siam  known  distinctively  as  the  Laos  states. 
However,  along  the  lower  course  of  the  Cambodia 
River  is  a  vast  area  wholly  Laos,  but  as  yet  wholly 
untouched  by  missionary  effort.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  Laos  population  of  Muang  Tahk  or 
Raheng.  Only  half  the  Laos  territory  of  Siam  it- 
self has  as  yet  been  touched  in  any  way  by  our 
mission  work. 

---    ,   .  In  his  earlier  tours,  Dr.   Mc- 

F        li  T      >  Gilvary     had     several     times 

^  crossed  the  Mekong  or  Cam- 
bodia River,  and  in  1873  had  visited  Luang  Pra- 
bang,  now  the  capital  of  French  Laos.  In  1893, 
in  company  with  the  Rev.  Robert  Irvin,  he  made  a 
long  tour  to  the  north  following  the  course  of  the 
Cambodia  River,  well  into  Chinese  territory.  In 
1897,  when  Dr.  Peoples  was  his  travel  companion, 
most  of  their  time  was  spent  in  French  territory. 
A  special  opening  for  the  gospel  was  discovered 


122  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

among  the  Kah  Mook,  the  hill  tribe  from  whom 
the  timber  companies  draw  many  of  their  forest 
workers.  These  people  are  not  Laos,  but  most  of 
the  men  understand  the  Laos  tongue.  Both  Dr. 
McGilvary  and  Dr.  Peoples  urged  upon  the  mission 
at  its  next  meeting  the  call  for  a  new  station  in 
French  territory,  primarily  for  the  Kah  Mook  who 
had  shown  such  eagerness  to  receive  the  gospel 
message,  but  also  for  the  more  numerous  Laos  peo- 
ple among  whom  they  dwell.  Permission  to  open 
a  station  has  never  been  obtained  from  the  French 
Government,  and  serious  obstacles  have  been  put 
in  the  way  of  any  organized  work  there.  But  visits 
by  Dr.  McGilvary  in  1899,  Dr.  Dodd  in  1901,  and 
by  Messrs.  Campbell  and  McKay  in  1904,  have 
helped  to  maintain  the  interest  first  aroused. 
This  year  (1909)  the  Laos  native  church  voted  to 
make  that  their  own  mission  field.  A  hundred 
communicants,  faithful  amid  many  difficulties  as 
well  as  many  inquirers,  call  for  the  earnest  prayer 
of  the  church  for  this  orphan  company  of  believers 
three  hundred  miles  from  any  other  Christians, 
whom  the  selfish  policy  of  the  French  has  forbid- 
den the  missionary  to  visit. 

^,,    ,    .  Meantime,  the  thousfht  and  effort  of 

Work  in        ^,         .    . '  .     r  ft,         .  •        t,       u 

-5  .  .  ,  the  mission  and  of  the  native  church 

,p      .  had  been  turned  in  another  direction, 

^        toward  Keng  Tung,  the  center  of  Laos 

population  in  British  territory.     An  exploring  tour 

carried  out  in  1897  by  Messrs.  Dodd,  Briggs  and 

Irwin,  led  the  mission,  in  December,  1898,  to  ask 

permission  of  the  board  to  open  a  station  there  as 


The  Coming  of  the  Gospel  123 

well  as  in  French  territory.  From  that  time  native 
evangelists  or  missionaries,  or  both,  have  visited 
British  territory  each  dry  season,  and  in  1904  or- 
ganized work  was  begun  in  Keng  Tung  city.  The 
Baptists  of  Burma  looked  upon  this  as  in  some 
sense  an  invasion  of  their  territory.  Circumstances 
have  led  the  board  to  yield  to  them,  and  with- 
draw the  resident  missionaries  from  that  city,  al- 
though we  still  carry  on  the  work  in  the  province 
by  frequent  tours  from  Chieng  Rai. 
_  .  .  In  at  least  four  different  tours  our 
p,  .       ^  missionaries  have  crossed  the  Chinese 

rp      .  border  and  found  the  people  friendly, 

^  accessible,  and  willing  to  listen  to  the 
gospel,  but  no  organized  or  permanent  work  has 
ever  been  undertaken  there,  nor  can  it  be,  until  we 
are  ready  to  open  a  permanent  station.  Our  mis- 
sionaries in  Keng  Tung  came  constantly  in  contact 
with  trading  caravans,  who  told  them  that  for  a 
distance  as  far  to  the  north  as  Raheng  lay  to  the 
south  (four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  by  road,  or  three 
hundred  and  fifty  as  the  crow  flies)  the  Laos  lan- 
guage and  character  are  still  in  use  in  market  and 
monastery  alike.  Although  a  vigorous  native  church 
of  four  thousand  communicants  has  been  gathered 
in  the  district  within  reach  of  our  mission  stations, 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Laos  people,  and  of  the  terri- 
tory they  occupy,  is  still  totally  untouched  by  the 
gospel. 

Is  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America  planning  for  anything  less  than  the  con- 
quest of  the  whole  Laos  people  for  Christ? 


The  Aim  of 


CHAPTER  XI 

TOURING    AND    TEACHING 

Mention  has    already   been   made    of 
.  "  long  tours  "  to  the  north  and  east 

^  by  Dr.  McGilvary  and  others,  that  re- 

vealed how  vast  is  the  territory  yet  to  be  possessed, 
how  wide  open  many  of  the  doors.  This  chapter 
will  speak  rather  of  regular  touring  work  within 
the  limits  of  each  station.  I  put  touring  and  teach- 
ing together  to  emphasize  the  fact  that,  save  in  dis- 
tricts where  no  organized  work  has  been  done,  the 
work  of  teaching  occupies  a  larger  share  of  the  mis- 
sionary's time  than  the  direct  proclamation  of  the 
gospel.  In  training  the  rank  and  file  of  native 
Christians  to  be  missionaries  to  their  own  relatives 
and  neighbors,  he  multiplies  himself,  and  places  his 
work  on  a  solid  basis.  Alissionaries  may  come  and 
missionaries  may  go,  but  the  native  church  remains. 
With  God's  help,  it  must  live  and  grow,  till  the 
whole  land  and  all  its  people  have  been  won  for 
Christ. 

-,     .      .  As  the  work  amons:  the  Laos  people 

Begmnmg         ,  ^u     j  r        •  /•   • 

-  has  grown,  the  duty  oi  mamtammg 

^  ^  c,.     .  re8:ular  Sabbath  and    evening   wor- 

Out-Station         u-     •     ^i    -  u  j      -i 

ship   m   their  own   homes  and  vil- 
lages has  constantly  been  laid  on  the  new  believers. 

124 


Touring  and  Teaching 


125 


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126  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

People  of  several  adjacent  villages  often  unite  in 
these  services.  As  time  passes  on,  perhaps  very 
soon,  their  interest  and  efforts  draw  in  relatives  and 
friends.  Leaders  and  elders  are  chosen,  and  the 
new  center  becomes  a  recognized  out-station  of  the 
mission.  Seventy-two  such  centers  of  Christian  in- 
fluence were  reported  by  the  mission  in  1907. 

_-      - -.    .  ,     Each  missionary,  medical  as  well 

The  Missionary  s  1     •     1    •  1  mi 

T,.  ,  1        ■,  1^  as  clerical,  is  made    responsible 

Field  and  Force      ,  -  -.^    r  .1  ,    • 

for  oversight  of  the  work  in  one 

or  more  of  these  out-stations.  The  district  about 
it  is  his  peculiar  field.  The  Christians  in  it  are  his 
working  force.  To  maintain  interest  and  attend- 
ance upon  the  services  in  distant  and  widely  scat- 
tered villages,  to  secure  growth  in  knowledge  and 
grace,  and  to  make  of  these  men  and  women,  weak 
and  ignorant,  but  with  the  love  of  God  in  their 
hearts,  leaven  that  shall  leaven  the  whole  lump, 
is  the  constant  problem  of  the  touring  mission- 
ary. 

While  he  ever  seeks  and  finds  opportunity  to  pre- 
sent the  gospel  to  "  outsiders,"  to  those  who  have 
not  yet  "  entered  the  religion  of  Jesus,"  still  the 
best  work  of  the  missionary  in  districts  where  the 
gospel  has  already  found  entrance,  is  done  through 
the  native  Christians,  not  independent  of  them. 
His  heart  is  often  gladdened  by  an  invitation  to 
visit  a  home  where  the  work  and  words  of  some 
Laos  brother  or  sister  have  already  aroused  interest 
in  the  gospel  message. 


Touring  and  Teaching  127 

Multitudes  of  villages,  some  of  them 

quite  near  our  mission  stations,  are 

.  yet  untouched  by  the  gospel;    whole 

Extension       ^jg^^j^^^g^    ^    little    more    distant,    but 

easily  within  reach,  have  still  no  Christians.  Nei- 
ther these  nor  the  wider  field  yet  untouched,  must 
be  forgotten  and  neglected,  but  the  touring  mission- 
ary or  evangelist  usually  visits  first  his  established 
out-stations,  seeking  to  "  strengthen  the  stakes," 
that  from  them  he  may  "  lengthen  the  cords,"  to 
reach  and  hold  the  whole  land  for  Christ.  Two 
distinct  phases  of  evangelistic  effort  are  thus  indi- 
cated, the  intensive  and  extensive;  one  seeks  to 
deepen  conviction  and  increase  knowledge  in  hearts 
and  districts  already  touched  by  the  gospel;  the 
other  reaches  out  to  the  regions  that  are  beyond. 
Of  either  one  it  may  be  said,  ''These  ought  ye  to 
have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone." 

_,-      _       .         Touring-  is  done  at  all  seasons  of  the 

The  Touring  ^  ,  ^       .        ,     .       ^, 

„  ^     year,  and  touring  during  the  rams 

or  the  rice  season  has  its  own  advan- 
tages as  well  as  its  peculiar  difficulties.  However, 
most  of  the  touring  work,  especially  that  in  which 
the  ladies  of  the  mission  share,  must  be  done  be- 
tween January  and  June.  These  months  between 
rice  harvest  and  rice-planting  are  often  spoken  of  as 
the  "  touring  season."  The  people  are  then  less 
busy  and  more  accessible  than  at  other  seasons. 
"  Roads,"  if  such  we  may  call  them,  are  then  at 
their  best,  and  neither  mud  nor  floods  stand  in  the 


128  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

traveler's  way.  Language  study,  literary  work  and 
other  parts  of  a  missionary's  duty  that  can  be  post- 
poned to  a  convenient  season,  fill  in  the  months 
when  traveling  is  difficult  or  impossible.  From 
January  to  June  almost  all  the  families  in  the  mis- 
sion spend  at  least  a  part  of  their  time  in  field  work. 
.  During  the    touring    season,    the 

.  ^^^     1.  evangelists  employed  by  the  native 

in  Touch  ,        -  It       ^1         •    •         • 

.  ,     ,     T^.  ,  1      church,  as  well  as  the  missionaries 

With  the  Field      ^,  '  ...         rr.,^ 

themselves,  are  most  active,     ine 

little  army  of  self-supporting  vaccinator  evangelists 
referred  to  in  the  next  chapter  are  then  sent  out. 
Different  plans  are  employed  in  different  stations 
to  keep  in  touch  with  these  native  workers,  and 
make  their  efforts  effective.  In  Chieng  Mai,  the 
number  of  workers  is  larger  than  elsewhere,  and 
more  systematic  oversight  is  possible.  The  vaccin- 
ators come  in  for  instruction  three  or  four  days 
each  month,  and  the  other  evangelists,  whether 
employed  by  the  native  church  or  by  the  mission, 
usually  come  to  share  in  the  instruction  and  inspira- 
tion of  these  gatherings.  As  the  evangelists  and 
vaccinators  represent  in  their  persons  nearly  every 
out-station  in  Chieng  Mai  and  Lampoon  provinces, 
and  go  out  for  their  work  over  an  even  wider  area, 
the  missionaries  are  able  through  them  to  come 
into  intimate  touch  with  every  part  of  the  field. 

«.     ..       ^  ^    At  the  close  of  each  session,  the  mis- 
Starting  Out      .         .  „  xi.  .' 
-         _f             sionaries    as    well    as    the    native 

workers  go  out  for  another    month 

of  hand-to-hand  work.    Let  us  follow  them  into  the 


Touring  and  Teaching  129 

field.     In  imagination  we  will  join  a    party    on    a 
tour  to  the  north  from  Chieng  Mai. 

It  is  a  Thursday  afternoon.  A  pack  pony,  a  cook 
and  several  carriers,  as  well  as  two  native  evange- 
lists have  gone  out  earlier  in  the  day,  but  the  mis- 
sionary is  delayed  by  callers  till  nearly  night.  He 
rides  out  and  overtakes  his  men  twelve  miles  from 
the  city,  not  as  he  expected  in  a  village  where  there 
are  Christians,  but  camped  in  a  rest  house  by  the 
roadside.  It  is  too  late  for  any  formal  services,  and 
a  little  rain  is  falling,  but  after  supper  several  of 
the  party  find  opportunity  to  talk  with  other  trav- 
elers and  villagers,  and  at  evening  worship,  despite 
the  rain,  some  others  are  present. 

^      ,      ,-•      ,        Brisfht  and  early  the  next  morn- 
On  the  March      .     ^ .  1      .    •         ^u  u 

mg  the  cavalcade  is  on  the  march. 

In  several  villages  by  the  way  the  missionary  pauses 

at  the  home  of  a  lonely  Christian  family,  or  of  an 

acquaintance  who  has  shown  interest  in  the  truth. 

At  noon  he  tarries  two  hours  in  a  Christian  village, 

visits  some  of  the  homes,  and  holds  a  brief  service, 

but  he  cannot  remain  longer  lest  he  fail  to  reach  his 

appointment  for  the    Sabbath,    which    is    still    far 

away.    Night  finds  him  camped  beside  the  home  of 

a  man  who  knows  Dr.  McGilvary,  and  has  heard 

something  of  the  truth.    The  use  of  the  stereopticon 

brings  a  crowd  of  villagers  to  see  and  hear  the  story 

of  the  life  and  love  of  the  Saviour  of  men.    Several 

remain  to  question  further,  but  are    not   ready   to 

commit  themselves.      ]\Iay   the  seed  thus   sown  be 

not  in  vain. 


130  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

.     ^  .  es.  .'  An  early  start  and  a  lonsf  day's 

An  Out-Station      .  ^  ,,  ^  • 

journey     over     the     mountains 

bring  the  party  Saturday  evening  to  the  chapel  at 
Muang  Pao.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
vigorous  out-stations  in  Chieng  Mai  province,  but 
so  distant  and  difficult  of  access  that  it  cannot  be 
frequently  visited.  Just  now  the  work  there  is 
particularly  important,  because  there  has  been  a 
large  immigration  from  other  more  densely  popu- 
lated districts.  These  immigrants,  separated  from 
home  ties  and  surroundings,  are  peculiarly  open  to 
new  influences.  Three  full  days  there  will  enable 
the  missionary  and  evangelists  to  visit  most  of  the 
Christian  homes.  Daily  classes  for  the  children,  the 
women  and  the  men,  and  evening  services  for  all, 
are  held.  The  Sabbath  is  especially  full,  and  nearly 
every  Christian  household  for  five  miles  around  is 
represented  in  the  services.  A  definite  agreement  is 
made  to  begin  school  the  following  week.  Word 
comes  later  that  nearly  forty  pupils  are  enrolled. 
Schools  like  this  draw  no  money  from  the  board, 
being  supported  by  tuition  and  other  contributions. 

A  TT  J  T^  »  From  Muang  Pao,  a  long  day  of 
A  Hard  Day's      ,      ,  ^        i         ^u  f  •  j 

^  ''  hard  travel  up  the  mountams  and 

^  then  down  the  beautiful  valley  of 

Wild  Palms  and  along  a  stream  that  loses  itself  in 
a  cleft  in  a  rock,  on  past  Ogre  Mountain  with  its 
caves,  from  which  the  country's  supply  of  saltpeter 
comes,  brings  the  party  to  Chieng  Dao,  a  distant 
out-station  that  has  suffered  by  removals  and  in- 
sufficient oversight.    Here  several  days  are  spent  in 


Laos  Maid 


Touring  and  Teaching  131 

instruction,  council  and  encouragement,  going  from 
house  to  house  among  a  widely  scattered  flock. 
Here,  as  everywhere,  the  stereopticon  and  picture 
roll  aid  in  bringing  the  people  together.  Encour- 
aged and  strengthened  by  this  too  hurried  visit,  the 
people  not  only  gather  in  unusual  numbers  for  the 
Sabbath  services,  but  subsequently  show  greater 
zeal  and  perseverance.  On  the  return  journey  both 
nights  are  spent  in  villages  where  isolated  Christian 
families  are  holding  out  faithfully  amid  difficult 
surroundings. 

.-_,..  In  1906,  every   missionary   family   in 

_  Chieng  Rai  spent  many  weeks  in  tour- 

on  a  Tour       .^^^     ^^^  ^j^.^^  described  their  trip 

as  follows : 

"  Early  in  February,  we  packed  our  belongings, 
closed  the  house,  and  spent  five  very  happy  weeks 
among  the  Christians  south  and  west  of  the  city. 
As  we  stopped  for  dinner  at  Me  Sooie,  several  men 
doing  business  at  the  court  that  day  called  on  us 
and  urged  us  to  visit  their  villages.  Two  said: 
'  Do  you  not  remember  us?  You  gave  us  tracts  in 
a  temple  in  Chieng  Rai.'  Since  then  it  has  been  my 
privilege  to  receive  one  of  those  men  to  full  com- 
munion. *  Baby  Elizabeth,'  *  Baby  Bilhorn  '  (the 
organ)  and  a  magic  lantern  were  irresistible  at- 
tractions, and  wherever  they  went  we  had  splendid 
audiences.  The  chief  prince  of  Muang  Fang  invited 
us  to  his  residence  to  show  the  pictures,  and  the 
immense  house  was  packed  with  his  friends  and 
retainers.     In  Wieng  Pa  Pao,  homes  closed  to  us 


132  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

last  year  invited  us  to  hold  services  v^ith  them.  It 
was  a  glad  day  for  Pa  Pao  church  when  these  wan- 
derers returned.  At  another  village  we  found  a 
good  old  deacon,  whose  prayers  for  the  sick  and  ail- 
ing ones  in  the  community  have  had  most  remark- 
able answers.  Another  Christian,  with  beaming 
face,  invited  us  to  come  and  examine  seven  cate- 
chumens. Poor,  spirit-ridden  people,  chased  from 
village  to  village,  they  had  fled  to  the  Christians  at 
Wieng  Pa  Pao  and  been  gladly  received  and  kindly 
treated.  Now  they  were  eager  to  profess  their  faith 
in  the  Saviour  who  had  delivered  them  from  the 
power  of  the  demons.  We  found  also  two  men  over 
sixty  years  of  age  (and  therefore  exempt)  who  had 
paid  the  four  tical  poll  tax  rather  than  take  a 
heathen  oath  as  to  their  age.  Altogether  this  trip 
and  the  year  was  a  most  happy  one." 
_       .  Those  of  our  missionaries  who  give 

.      ,  most  time  to  evangelistic  work   are 

_^      ^  out  nearly  every  month  in  the  year. 

The  following  from  Dr.  McKean,  of 
Chieng  Mai,  tells  of  some  such  work: 

"  The  missionary  has  no  Sabbath  day  of  rest.  No 
day  is  a  harder  strain  on  his  spiritual  and  physical 
nature  than  the  Sabbath.  Last  Sabbath,  for  in-v 
stance,  the  missionaries  in  Chieng  Mai  spent  the 
day  as  follows:  Harris  went  to  Me  Dawk  Deng, 
twelve  miles  distant.  The  rice  season  is  here  and 
the  fields  are  overflowed.  It  is  practically  impos- 
ible  to  go  with  a  horse  at  all,  nor  could  he  reach  the 
chapel  in  time  if  he  went  Sabbath  morning.      After 


Touring  and  Teaching  133 

teaching  school  on  Saturday,  he  started  out  on  foot. 
Plowing  through  mud  and  water,  crossing  innumer- 
able irrigating  ditches,  one  stream  up  to  his  neck 
and  no  bridge,  zigzagging  across  the  fields  on  the 
narrow  rice  ridges,  he  finally  reached  his  destina- 
tion, and  after  a  night's  rest  and  a  day  full  of  ser- 
vices and  pastoral  work  of  every  sort,  he  returned 
ready  for  work  at  home  on  Monday  morning. 

"  Mr.  Collins  rode  to  another  church,  equally  dis- 
tant, but  he  had  a  good  road  most  of  the  way.  I 
saw  him  come  home  in  the  evening,  very  tired,  but 
Monday  morning,  bright  and  early,  he  is  at  work 
in  the  press. 

"  Mr.  Waite  spent  the  Sabbath  at  Nawng  Fan,  a 
Christian  village,  six  miles  distant,  where  a  former 
head  priest,  a  man  influential  and  widely  known, 
has  recently  become  a  Christian.  Dr.  McGilvary 
recently  made  a  trip  into  the  country  of  which  he 
said :  *  I  wish  I  could  photograph  for  you  my  last 
Me  Pu  Kah  trip.  The  road  was  the  worst  I  ever 
traveled.  I  rode  back  and  forth  in  one  ditch,  al- 
most swimming  at  times,  in  despair  of  finding  a 
place  where  my  horse  would  climb  the  bank.  Finally 
after  a  super-equine  effort  my  horse  paused  in 
equilibrium  uncertain  whether  he  would  gain  the 
bank,  or  tumble  back  in  the  mud.  You  can  imagine 
my  relief  when  the  good  horse  really  did  scale  the 
bank.'  How  is  that  for  a  boy  of  seventy-eight  sum- 
mers? 

"  But  last  Sabbath  Dr.  McGilvary  spent  the  day 
teaching  in  the  temple.     Dr.  McGilvary  has  spent 


134  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

more  time  in  presenting  the  gospel  to  the  priests 
than  any  other  missionary.  Many  a  man,  now  a 
Christian,  got  his  first  knowledge  of  the  truth  from 
him  in  a  heathen  temple." 

While  Dr.  McKean  is  not  an  ordained  minister, 
and  medical  work  often  detains  him  in  the  city,  he 
shares  most  acceptably  in  the  work  of  preaching  the 
gospel.  On  the  Sabbath  in  question,  he  preached 
in  the  city  church  in  the  morning,  and  at  Ban  Den 
chapel  in  the  afternoon.  The  evening  was  given 
to  a  magic  lantern  service  in  the  hospital  chapel. 
P    -      .  The  close  of  the  year  in  Laos  churches 

.  ,  ^  is  October  31.  In  September  and 
TT  October,   visits   must   be   made   to   as 

many  of  the  out-stations  as  possible,  to 
examine  classes  of  catechumens  who  have  been 
under  instruction  during  the  year.  The  writer  had 
an  unusual  number  of  out-stations  under  his  charge 
in  1906,  and  so  an  unusual  amount  of  paddling 
through  Laos  mud  fell  to  his  share  that  fall.  A  brief 
sketch  of  two  of  those  trips  must  close  the  chapter. 
p    ....  Horses  were  ready  when  school  closed 

rp,  5         on  Friday   afternoon,   and   with   Nan 

T  Mr?  Chak,  my  cook  and  right-hand  man,  I 
rode  southward  from  Lampoon  along 
a  fair  road  for  six  miles.  Then  the  ponies  had  to 
swim  two  hundred  yards  in  swollen  waters,  where, 
in  the  dry  season,  one  may  almost  jump  across.  My 
faithful  "  Red  Horse  "  already  had  a  cough,  and  this 
trip  was  the  last  he  was  able  to  carry  me.  Reach- 
ing the  other  side,  we  again  found  a  fair  road  most 


Touring  and  Teaching  135 

of  the  way  to  our  first  stop.  Our  carriers  were 
already  there,  and  the  evening  was  spent  in  teaching 
the  people  to  sing,  and  in  instructing  a  catechumen 
class.  One  of  its  members,  a  young  mother  who 
had  married  an  "  outsider,"  had  stood  firm  when  he 
threatened  to  leave  her  if  she  did  not  give  up  the 
Christian  religion.  I  felt  that  her  faith  had  been 
tested,  and  was  glad  to  receive  her.  The  next  morn- 
ing horses  had  to  be  left  behind.  A  boat  ferried  us 
across  the  "  Big  River,"  and  with  only  Chinese 
trousers,  a  loose  shirt  and  a  hat,  the  writer  was 
ready  for  wading.  At  the  largest  stream  we  ex- 
pected to  find  a  boat,  but  none  was  to  be  seen.  The 
swift  current  made  it  hard  to  cross,  but  on  the  other 
bank  at  a  native  house  we  changed  to  dry  clothing, 
and  were  none  the  worse.  A  visit  to  a  backslider 
who  was  glad  to  see  us  but  not  yet  ready  to  return, 
and  a  call  at  a  non-Christian  home  where  medical 
skill  opened  the  way,  occupied  the  time  till  we  were 
ready  to  start.  After  floundering  across  four  miles 
of  rice  plain,  we  spent  Saturday  night  at  the  house 
of  a  teacher  in  the  Chieng  Mai  girl's  school.  Three 
of  her  brothers,  though  attendants  at  Christian  ser- 
vices, were  not  members  of  the  church.  All  seemed 
impressed  and  asked  to  be  received  as  catechumens. 
It  was  four  miles  farther  to  the  chapel,  and  the  Sab- 
bath was  without  special  incident  further  than  that 
on  the  return  in  the  afternoon  the  missionary  man- 
aged to  fall  off  the  bamboo  pole  that  constituted  a 
bridge,  into  a  little  stream.  The  return  on  Monday 
morning  was  by  the  same  route  and  uneventful. 


136  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

On  the  other  trip  two  weeks 

horses  could  not  carry  us  so  far.    Rain 


-__  On  the  other  trip  two  weeks  later,  the 

Water 


overhead  was  added  to  water  under 
foot,  and  made  the  path  so  sHppery  that  first  one 
then  the  other  carrier  slipped  down,  but  all  was 
taken  good-naturedly  and  no  one  was  hurt.  Six 
out  of  ten  catechumens  passed  a  creditable  examina- 
tion at  that  out-station  and  were  gladly  received. 
Arrangements  were  made  to  open  a  school.  We 
returned  Monday  morning,  wet  to  the  skin,  but 
happy  in  having  found  real  progress  where  we  had 
hardly  expected  it. 

.       ,         The  position  of  woman  among  the 

.      ^     ,.         Laos  is  so  entirely  free  that  there   is 
the  Ladies  ^  ^,  -^      r 

r   ,  not  the   same   necessity   for   separate 

,-.     .  work  on  their  behalf  as  in  some  fields. 

Mission  T,.         .    ,  f  .1       •     ,         J 

JNevertheless,  many  of  the  single,  and 

some  of  the  married  ladies  do  some  independent 
touring.  Miss  Fleeson  in  Lakawn  and  Nan  spent 
considerable  time  in  outside  touring.  In  Dr.  Camp- 
bell's absence  on  long  tours,  Mrs.  Campbell  has 
more  than  once  visited  the  out-stations  alone  or 
with  her  children,  and  Mrs.  Crooks,  in  Chieng  Rai, 
has  twice  visited  the  Musu,  a  hill  tribe,  among 
whom  we  have  Christians,  when  Dr.  Crooks  could 
not  accompany  her.  Each  vacation  in  the  girls* 
school  Miss  Gilson  makes  it  a  point  to  visit  the 
homes  of  her  boarding  pupils.  On  one  of  these 
tours  she  conducted  a  class  for  men  at  Muang  Pao, 
sixty-five  miles  north  of  Chieng  Mai,  and  brought 
back  with  her  eight  new  pupils  for  the  school.  Dur- 


Touring  and  Teaching  137 

ing  the  touring  season,  nearly  every  year  one  of  the 
ladies  of  the  mission  has  conducted  regular  classes 
for  the  women  in  some  five  different  villages  each 
week,  thus  riding  a  sort  of  circuit.  Touring  in  Laos 
is  more  difficult  for  the  ladies  than  for  the  men,  and 
v^hen  ladies  and  children  are  of  the  party,  the  caval- 
cade is  often  a  most  picturesque  one,  for  all  that  is 
needed  to  eat  and  wear,  as  well  as  tents,  camp  furni- 
ture and  cooking  utensils,  must  be  carried. 


CHAPTER  XII 

HOSPITALS    AND    HEALING    AND    HOW    THEY    HAVE 
HELPED 

.  From  the  very  beginning   of   work 

^    ?  .      ^        among  the  Laos,   medical   missions 

have  helped  to  open  the  way  for  the 

and  burgery      ^^gp^j^    j^^^  McGilvary,  the  founder 

of  the  mission,  and  every  missionary  since,  whether 
nominally  a  medical  missionary  or  not,  has  been 
compelled  to  do  medical  work.  Three  scourges 
cause  more  suffering  and  death  in  "  The  Land  of 
the  Free  "  than  all  others  combined — they  are  ma- 
laria, smallpox  and  vesical  calculus,  or  stone.  The 
last  is  perhaps  more  common  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world,  and  only  the  surgeon  can  bring 
relief  from  its  terrible  pain.  Surgery  was  entirely 
unknown  among  the  Laos,  as  in  most  other  parts  of 
Asia,  until  the  coming  of  the  medical  missionary. 
To-day,  in  the  Chieng  Mai  and  Lakawn  hospitals, 
the  surgeons  in  charge  of  each  operate  on  some  forty 
cases  or  more  each  year,  in  most  instances  success- 
fully. The  people  have  learned  to  trust  the  skill 
and  loving  care  of  the  foreign  physician.  Had  medi- 
cal missions  done  nothing  else  than  exemplify  the 
love  of  Christ  in  the  relief  of  such  suffering,  time 
and  means  would  have  been  richly  rewarded. 

138 


Hospitals  and  Healing  139 

jjr  ■,     '         A      ^^   ^^^^   early   days   of   his   work   in 

o       „  Chieno^    Mai,    Dr.    McGilvary   hired 

Smallpox  .11      ..     1  .  1-  . 

men  to  take  the      white  medicme, 

the  name  by  which  quinine  has  ever  since  been 
known  there.  Now  it  is  sold  in  the  market  stalls 
of  every  city  and  many  a  village  in  the  Siamese 
Laos  states.  Dr.  McGilvary  also  introduced  vac- 
cination among  them. 

If  anyone  doubts  the  efficacy  of  vaccination,  let 
him  compare  conditions  forty  years  ago  and  to-day. 
Then  parents  expected  that  every  child  would  have 
smallpox,  and  fully  one  third  of  them  died  of  the 
scourge.  To-day,  throughout  the  great  Chieng  Mai- 
Lampoon  plains,  one  seldom  sees  a  case  of  small- 
pox. Why  is  this?  Thirty  thousand  children 
have  been  successfully  vaccinated  during  the  past 
five  years  in  that  plain,  by  men  sent  out  from  our 
hospitals. 
^       .  Years  have  been  added  to  the  average 

Tx  duration  of  human  life,  and  untold  suf- 

Doors  r    .  ,  IT 

lermg  subtracted.       Instances  need  not 

be  multiplied  to  make  it  plain  that  more  than  any 
other  human  agency,  medical  missions  have  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  gospel  among  the  Laos. 
Every  week,  every  day  in  the  year,  in  every  mission 
station,  the  relief  of  human  suffering  is  quietly  ex- 
emplifying the  gospel,  disarming  prejudice,  opening 
doors,  winning  a  hearing  for  the  message  of  a 
Saviour's  love.  If  you  would  win  men  to  Christ, 
you  must  convince  them,  not  only  that  the  Saviour 
loves  them,  but  that  you  love  them  and  are  ready 


140  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

to   help    them.      In    doing   this,   medical    missions 

are  a  powerful,  indirect  evangelizing  agency. 

.  Medical  missions  are  also  most  fruit- 

_  ,.  fill  as  a  direct  evansrelizins:  agency. 

Evangelism,      -r^,  1      -n  u        .?         -f     1  r.  ^ 

Elder  Pun,  whom  the  writer  left  in 

charge  of  his  work  when  he  came  to  this  country  on 
furlough,  was  known  twenty  years  ago  as  "  Crazy 
Pun."  Native  physicians  could  do  nothing  for  him, 
and  friends  finally  took  him  to  the  dispensary  in 
Chieng  Mai,  probably  with  little  farther  expecta- 
tion than  that,  temporarily  at  least,  they  might  be 
relieved  of  a  burden.  The  missionary  physician 
undertook  the  case.  Gradually  Pun's  attacks  of 
insanity  became  less  frequent  and  less  violent.  He 
was  allowed  to  return  home,  coming  occasionally 
to  the  dispensary  for  treatment.  The  result  was  a 
complete  cure.  But  while  body  and  mind  were 
being  healed,  he  learned  also  of  the  Healer  of  souls. 
As  he  was  taught  to  read  with  the  use  of  the  Bible, 
his  mind  and  heart  gradually  opened  to  the  truths. 
On  his  return  home,  in  a  quiet  way  he  began  to 
teach  others  and  lead  them  as  he  had  been  led. 
Did  he  need  a  man  to  help  him  on  the  farm?  Be- 
fore the  rice  crop  was  harvested,  he  had  taught 
him  to  read  and  led  him  to  Christ.  If  he  went  on  a 
journey,  his  heart  was  so  full,  he  could  but  tell  his 
fellow-travelers  the  good  news  he  had  learned. 
"  Crazy  Pun  "  had  become  Elder  Pun,  one  of  the 
wisest  and  most  tactful  of  our  evangelists.  It  must 
not  be  supposed,  however,  that  he  was  employed  at 
once,  or  soon,  as  a  paid  evangelist.    It  was  because, 


Helpers,  Chiexg  Mai  Dispensary 


Hospitals  and  Healing  141 

whether  at  home  or  abroad,  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  he  was  leading  men  and  women  to  Christ, 
that  the  native  church  employs  him  as  an  evangelist 
at  a  wage  hardly  half  of  what  he  could  earn  in  other 
ways. 

-    All  the  assistants  in  the   Laos   hospi- 

,,    ,.     ,  tals  and  dispensaries    are    Christians. 

Medical  .  .  ^  .  r  r  ^1  _ 

A  group  picture  of  four  of  those  em- 
ployed in  the  Chieng  Mai  hospital 
shows  the  kind  of  men  with  whom  we  work.  Ai 
Lai,  on  the  left,  is  in  charge  of  the  vaccine  labora- 
tory;  Doctor  Chanta,  a  Christian  elder  who  for 
more  than  twenty  years  has  given  faithful  service, 
and  is  now  Dr.  McKean's  right-hand  man  in  medi- 
cine and  surgery,  stands  next;  in  front  of  him  is 
Doctor  Keo,  hospital  steward  and  head  nurse,  and 
at  the  right  is  Muang  Chai,  the  second  assistant,  a 
younger  man  who  is  rapidly  gaining  in  knowledge 
and  skill. 

No  better  example  of  a  true  medical  missionary 
can  be  found  than  Doctor  Keo,  whose  story  Dr. 
McKean  tells  in  these  words: 

"  Sixteen  years  ago  two  men  who  had  come  three 
days'  journey,  appeared  on  our  veranda.  They 
were  forlorn  specimens  of  humanity,  brothers,  and 
both  very  ill.  I  shall  never  forget  the  confident 
manner  with  which  they  placed  themselves  and 
their  ragged  belongings  at  our  door,  seeming  to  say: 
*  Here  we  are  at  last.  The  missionary  is  our  friend, 
we  shall  surely  find  relief.'  Both  were  cured,  and 
surely  God  sent  them  to  us.       One  went  back  to 


142  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

his  family  and  lived  and  died  a  Christian.  The 
other,  whose  name  is  Ai  Keo,  remained  in  the  hos- 
pital, became  my  assistant,  and  is  now  my  steward 
and  head  nurse.  His  whole  life  and  thought  seem 
given  to  the  service  of  God.  Faithful  to  every  duty, 
constant,  kind  and  unselfish  in  his  care  of  the  poor 
sufferers  who  come  to  us,  I  verily  believe  Ai  Keo 
has  done  more  to  comfort  and  relieve  the  sufferings 
of  his  own  people  than  any  Laos  man  who  ever 
lived.^' 

Although  burdened  with  other  duties,  Ai  Keo 
constantly  teaches  by  word  of  mouth  the  truth  his 
life  exemplifies.  For  him,  more  completely  than 
any  other  Laos  man  the  writer  knows,  "  to  live  is 
Christ." 

A  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Gillies  was  touring  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  province  of  Lakawn,  in  a  dis- 
trict no  missionary  had  ever  visited  before.  He 
began  to  talk  with  a  man  from  the  village  while  he 
was  waiting  for  his  carriers.  Very  naturally,  the 
villager  asked  his  business.  When  Mr.  Gillies  told 
him  he  had  come  to  tell  of  the  "  Jesus  religion,"  the 
man  immediately  answered  that  there  was  a  "  Jesus 
man  "  in  that  village.  Mr.  Gillies  soon  found  him 
and  discovered  that,  several  years  before,  this  man 
had,  for  a  short  time,  received  treatment  in  the 
Lakawn  hospital.  He  was  unable  to  read,  but  had 
listened  with  earnest  attention  to  the  gospel  in  song 
and  story  as  he  heard  it  there.  When  the  time  came 
for  him  to  leave,  the  missionary  physician  had  bid- 
den him  remember  what  he  had  heard  and  come 
again  soon.    He  was  far  from  the  city  and  had  never 


Hospitals  and  Healing  143 

returned,  nor  had  an  elder  or  other  Christian  ever 
visited  him.  But  all  alone,  unable  to  read,  with 
very  little  knowledge  of  the  way,  he  had  neverthe- 
less torn  down  the  spirit  shrines  and  other  signs 
of  superstition,  and  had  taught  others  as  he  had 
opportunity,  what  he  had  learned.  He  was  known 
and  respected  in  all  the  village  as  "  the  Jesus  man." 
It  was  a  pleasure  to  Mr.  Gillies  to  remain  some  days 
in  that  village  and  deepen  the  impression  this  faith- 
ful disciple  had  already  made,  as  well  as  further 
instruct  and  baptize  the  man  himself. 

Many  other  incidents  might  be  told  to  illustrate 
the  fact  that  medical  missions,  as  a  direct  evangel- 
izing agency,  as  well  as  indirect,  are  telling  power- 
fully for  Christ;  but  we  must  hasten  on. 
rpy.  q  •  '^  One  of  the  greatest  dangers  that  con- 
^  fronts  our  work  is  the  liability  of  those 

who  have  already  professed  themselves 
Christians  to  be  tempted  back  into  heathenism 
when  disease  attacks  them.  It  is  a  common  belief 
of  the  Laos  people  that  most  diseases  are  the  work 
of  evil  spirits,  and  the  native  doctor  often  refuses 
to  prescribe  until  the  customary  offering  has  been 
made  to  the  spirits.  In  his  lonely  village,  far  from 
the  help  of  the  missionary,  the  only  believer  in  that 
village  perhaps,  what  can  the  poor  Christian  do 
when  sickness  comes,  when  the  life  of  his  wife  or 
child  is  at  stake?    What  would  you  do? 

*T^u  rn  •  1  When  a  man  so  situated  says,  as  I 
ine  iriai     .  .        .    .  .<:  t  .  •  , 

f  F  'th        have  heard  them  say,      Livmg  or  dy- 
ing, I  am  Christ's,"  it  means  more,  re- 
quires a  greater  strength  of  faith  to  keep  the  resolu- 


144  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

tion,  than  you  or  I  can  realize.  Unless  we  can  bring 
some  knowledge  of  foreign  medicine  within  their 
reach,  we  can  hardly  hope  to  hold  true  to  their  con- 
victions the  weaker  members  of  our  churches, 
when  such  emergency  arises.  The  mission  is  try- 
ing to  do  just  that. 
p,    .    .  In  1905  the  dispensary  in  Chieng  Mai 

_T    .  sent  out  one  hundred  and  fifty  Chris- 
Native  .  .     ^  ^, 
_-      .  .  tian  vaccmators.       ihese    men    were 
Physicians              -     ■,     ^               ■,     r  ■,  1 
"^  required    to    spend    four   days   each 

month  at  the  dispensary,  where  they  received  care- 
ful instruction,  not  merely  in  the  art  of  vaccination, 
but  in  the  use  of  common  remedies  for  common  dis- 
eases, and  in  the  use  of  their  Bibles.  The  small  fee 
the  government  allows  them  to  demand  makes  of 
them  a  body  of  self-supporting  evangelists  who 
reach  many  villages  and  districts  which  the  foreign 
missionary  has  never  reached,  and  their  scalpel  and 
little  cases  of  medicine  give  them  access  to  homes 
where  even  they  would  not  be  welcome  as  evangel- 
ists. 

cy  ic  o  J.'  Some  of  these    men    who    have 

Self-Supporting      ,  ^       ^  . 

T^  ,.  ^        **      been  sent  out   year    after   year. 

Evangelists  ^       ,  x      .t.         , 

not  only  earn  for  themselves  a 

fair  living,  but  are  becoming  quite  skillful  in  the 
treatment  of  ordinary  diseases.  They  are  becom- 
ing real  medical  missionaries  to  their  own  people. 
In  His  name  they  heal  the  sick,  in  his  name  they 
cast  out  demons,  and  in  his  name  they  preach  the 
gospel  of  the  kingdom.     They  not  only  bring  the 


Hospitals  and  Healing  145 

gospel  to  those  who  have  never  heard,  but  are  able 
to  hold  true  to  their  course  many  who  are  tempted 
in  sickness  to  offer  to  the  demons  the  sacrifices 
they  and  their  fathers  have  been  wont  to  offer,  and 
so  deny  Christ.  Medical  work  among  the  Laos 
people  is  not  merely  an  evangelizing  agency  direct 
and  indirect,  but  it  is  God's  own  means  of  conserv- 
ing that  which  has  already  been  won. 

-r^     .  ^      What  equipment  has  the  church  in 

Equipment       .         .  . ,    ,    . 

America    provided    for    carrying    on 

this  important  work?  As  one  hears  of  the  utterly 
inadequate  buildings  and  instruments  at  the  com- 
mand of  medical  missionaries  in  some  of  the  mis- 
sion fields,  one  feels  that  the  Philadelphia  journalist 
who  spent  more  than  a  year  in  visiting  the  mission 
fields  of  the  world  was  in  a  measure  justified,  when, 
in  view  of  such  a  niggardly  policy  he  exclaimed 
to  the  men  of  the  church,  "  Do  the  job  or  chuck 
it." 

The  Laos  mission  has  received  most  gener- 
ous treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  church.  It  only 
asks  a  continuance  of  the  substantial  interest 
shown  in  the  past  as  new  necessities  arise.  More- 
over, the  confidence  and  interest  of  both  rulers  and 
people  in  its  medical  work  is  shown  in  the  fact 
that  the  whole  current  expense  of  all  our  dispens- 
aries and  hospitals  is  met  by  current  receipts. 
Even  for  the  enlargement  of  our  older  hospitals, 
they  have  come  to  depend  on  the  generosity  of 
those   who    have   been    benefited    by   their   work. 


146  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

More    physicians    and    better    equipment    in    the 
smaller  stations  are  needed. 

p,  .         ^  .     The  means  for  the  original  buildings 
-J.       .^  -  of    Chieng    Mai    Hospital    and    Dis- 

pensary came  from  America,  so- 
licited by  Dr.  Marion  A.  Cheek,  who  gave  fifteen 
years  of  faithful  service  to  the  work  there.  In  re- 
cent years  the  hospital  has  been  much  enlarged 
through  gifts  from  the  native,  the  Chinese  and  the 
European  merchants  resident  in  Chieng  Mai,  and 
by  the  use  of  net  current  receipts.  To-day  it  holds 
real  estate  and  equipment  worth  at  least  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  and  has  comfortable  accommoda- 
tions for  at  least  fifty  patients,  and  residences  for 
two  physicians.  Besides  its  native,  its  "  princes* " 
and  its  foreign  wards,  its  commodious  chapel  as 
well  as  its  physicians'  residences,  it  has  a  vaccine 
laboratory  from  which  all  the  stations,  and  the  gov- 
ernment as  well,  draw  their  supplies  of  vaccine.  Its 
most  pressing  need  to-day  is  an  adequate  and  mod- 
ern operating  room.  No  one  who  has  not  seen  it  can 
realize  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  work  that 
is  being  done  there  from  day  to  day.  If  only  because 
the  whole  mission  looks  to  Chieng  Mai  as  the  seat 
of  its  projected  medical  school,  it  ought  not  to  be 
obliged  to  wait  for  this  much  needed  operating 
room  where  a  group  of  students  can  conveniently 
see  and  assist,  and  where  unsanitary  conditions 
shall  not  endanger  the  results  of  the  surgeon's 
skill.    The  illustration  shows  only  the  main  build- 


Hospitals  and  Healing  147 

In    Lakawn    the    Van    Santvoort 
italTnd    ^^"     Hospital   and   Dispensary   are   do- 
Y^.  ing  an  in-patient  work  only  a  little 

Dispensary  smaller  than   in   Chieng  Mai.     Its 

wards  are  of  more  recent  construction  and  in  some 
ways  more  convenient  than  those  in  Chieng  Mai, 
and  it  has  a  better  operating  room.  Its  wards  are 
often  crowded,  but  the  out-patient  work  and  the 
sales  of  medicine  are  naturally  smaller  than  in  the 
great  city  and  province  of  Chieng  Mai.  In  recent 
years,  the  direct  results  of  its  work  in  men  and 
women  won  to  Christ  have  been  a  marked  feature 
of  work  in  Lakawn.  We  sincerely  regret  that  cir- 
cumstances make  it  doubtful  whether  Dr.  Hansen 
will  return  to  the  work  he  has  carried  on  so  effect- 
ively. 

-.  ,  A  generous  gift  of  ten  thousand  dol- 

-j.  .  .  lars  as  a  memorial  to  a  gentleman 
of  Philadelphia  has  made  possible  the 
construction  of  an  adequate  hospital  on  modern 
lines  in  Chieng  Rai,  and  the  near  future  will  see 
that  important  center  for  medical  mission  work 
well  equipped,  and  exerting  an  influence  that  will 
be  felt,  not  on  Siamese  soil  alone,  but  far  across 
the  borders  in  British,  and  French  Laos,  and  even 
up  into  China  itself,  for  it  stands  on  important 
caravan  routes.  A  smaller  building  in  Nan, 
erected  mainly  by  use  of  the  money  paid  the  phy- 
sician there  by  the  Siamese  Government  for  the 
care  of  the  soldiers,  gendarmes  and  civil  officials 
stationed  in  that  province,  suffices    for   immediate 


148  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

needs.  But  in  Pre  there  is  no  hospital,  and  only 
a  dispensary  building.  Temporarily  Pre  has  been 
without  a  missionary  resident.  If  it  is  occupied 
again,  and  it  must  be,  a  hospital  of  adequate  size 
should  be  built  at  once,  and  the  growth  of  the  work 
will  soon  demand  larger  hospital  accommodation 
in  Nan  and  in  Lakawn. 
,     „  The  King  of  Siam  and  his  advisers 

-    -  have    always    taken    an    intelligent 

^  ^      interest  in  the  work  of  the  Amer- 

Government      .  .    .  t^  ^  ^1        1 

lean  missions.  But  they  have  re- 
peatedly shown  an  especial  interest  in  the  medical 
work.  Many  years  ago,  the  Siamese  Government 
gave  to  the  missionary  physician  in  Chieng  Mai 
exclusive  control  of  vaccination  in  the  north. 
They  have  readily  granted  the  use  of  land  for 
medical  mission  purposes,  and  contributed  both  by 
moral  influence  and  financial  aid  to  success.  Both 
the  king  and  his  brother,  Prince  Damrong,  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior,  as  well  as  the  crown  prince 
and  other  high  officials  have  repeatedly  spoken  in 
the  highest  terms  of  the  medical  work  and  treated 
with  marked  honor  those  engaged  in  it. 

•I-    ,    -  No  account  of  that  work  would  be 

Work  for  ,  ,         ,. ,  ,,       ^     , 

,      ,  complete  that  did  not    tell    of    the 

work  that  has  been  planned  and 
with  the  hearty  approval  of  the  government  act- 
ually begun  in  Chieng  Mai  for  the  lepers  of  Siam. 
The  grant  by  the  Prince  of  Chieng  Mai,  confirmed 
by  royal  authority,  of  an  island  in  the  river  near 
that  city,  has  made  a  small  beginning  possible,  but 


Hospitals  and  Healing  149 

until  the  means  for  suitable  buildings  are  in  hand, 
only  a  small  number  of  these  sufferers  can  be  pro- 
vided for.  No  picture  is  likely  to  give  to  one  who 
has  never  seen  them  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the 
poverty  and  misery  of  these  poor  outcasts.  Dr. 
McKean,  who  has  for  many  years  interested  him- 
self in  them,  says  in  part : 

"  From  time  immemorial,  leprosy  has  been 
known  and  feared  in  the  Land  of  the  White 
Elephant.  Wandering  about  the  streets  and  into 
the  temples,  or  wearily  hobbling  through  the 
bazaar  in  quest  of  alms,  an  offense  to  all  beholders, 
a  menace  to  the  public,  the  leper  is  always  and 
everywhere  an  object  of  profound  commiseration. 
Very  early  in  the  disease,  owing  to  stiffening  and 
contraction  of  the  muscles,  loss  of  toes  and  fingers, 
and  other  deformities,  the  leper  is  wholly  incapaci- 
tated from  earning  a  living.  His  only  means  of 
subsistence  is  begging,  his  food  scanty  and  coarse, 
his  clothing  mere  rags.  In  the  cold  season,  it  is 
probable  that  not  one  of  these  sufferers  passes  a 
warm  or  comfortable  night.  If  he  does  not  sleep 
in  the  open  where  night  overtakes  him,  his  hut  is 
at  best  unspeakably  poor  and  mean.  Buddhism 
does  nothing  for  the  leper;  the  government  does 
nothing  to  relieve  his  distress.  There  is  no  hope 
for  the  betterment  of  his  lot  save  from  us  who  en- 
joy the  blessings  of  a  Christian  civilization.  Lep- 
rosy is  incurable,  but  much  can  be  done  to  amelio- 
rate the  condition  of  the  leper.  He  is  homeless, 
hungry,  all  but  naked.     In  an  asylum,  shelter  and 


150  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

warmth,  food  and  clothing,  will  bring  comfort  to 
body  and  mind." 

Such  practical  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  Christ 
will  open  the  lepers'  hearts  to  the  message  that 
brings  peace  to  the  soul.  This  will  assuredly  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  the  disease.  Hundreds  of 
homeless  lepers  in  our  immediate  vicinity  know 
of  our  efforts  in  their  behalf,  and  only  await  our  in- 
vitation to  come.  We  are  even  now  caring  for 
thirteen  lepers  in  temporary  huts  of  bamboo  and 
thatch,  but  they  and  we  are  dependent  upon  the 
gifts  of  our  friends  in  this  favored  land.  Two 
thousand  dollars  will  build  a  brick  cottage  and  give 
a  home  to  twenty  leper  men  or  twenty  leper 
women.  Twenty-five  dollars  will  provide  the  en- 
tire support  of  an  adult  leper  for  one  year. 
Twenty  dollars  will  support  an  untainted  child  for 
a  year.  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these 
my  brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SCHOOLS,   THE   PRESS   AND   CHRISTIAN   LITERATURE 

In  the  Laos  field,  as  has  already 
Constituency  ^^^^  ^^.^^  ^^^^^^  ^o,k  followed 

of  the  Schools  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^  preceded  evangel- 
istic effort.  No  considerable  number  of  "out- 
siders" have  ever  been  enrolled  in  the  schools. 
Some  pupils  have  always  come  from  non-Christian 
homes,  but  latterly,  at  least,  the  task  of  educating 
the  children  of  Christians  has  been  so  large  that 
little  time  or  strength  could  be  given  to  draw  in 
others.  The  most  notable  exception  is  in  the 
boys'  school  in  Lakawn.  There,  quite  a  company 
of  young  priests  who  came  to  learn  arithmetic  and 
English,  and  held  off  from  the  religious  exercises  of 
the  school,  first  listened,  then  began  to  share  in  the 
singing  and  Scripture  reading.  In  addition,  not  a 
few  boys  and  girls  from  the  homes  of  Siamese  and 
Laos  officials  have  been  enrolled  as  day  pupils, 
rarely  as  boarders.  Our  schools  give  the  best  edu- 
cation to  be  had  in  the  Laos  states,  and  instruc- 
tion in  English  and  higher  branches  increasingly 
attracts  intelligent  and  ambitious  pupils.  We  hope 
ultimately  to  draw  them  to  Christ  as  well  as  into 
our  schools. 

151 


152  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

.  However,    the    problems    of    school 

_    *  -  work  in  the  Laos  mission  are  funda- 

mentally two:  To  teach  every  Chris- 
tian Laos  boy  and  girl  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  his 
own  language,  and  to  educate  the  future  leaders 
both  of  the  church  and  of  the  community.  In- 
telHgent  mothers,  educated  Christian  men  and 
officials  are  needed  as  well  as  evangelists  and 
teachers.  We  need  especially  Christian  phy- 
sicians. Still,  to  raise  up  a  native  ministry,  edu- 
cated in  our  schools,  is  the  problem  that  specially 
confronts  the  mission.  "  Young  men  for  action, 
old  men  for  council,"  so  dominates  the  thought  of 
the  people,  that  so  far  our  native  ministers  and 
evangelists  are  mostly  men  instructed  in  the 
Scriptures  in  adult  years,  and  sent  out  to  teach. 
As  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour  in  Judaea,  the  people 
would  not  readily  listen  to  one  under  thirty  years 
of  age  who  taught  publicly.  As  teachers  in  the 
schools,  they  welcome  our  educated  young  men  and 
women,  but  the  problem  of  a  native  ministry  is  as 
yet  unsolved  in  the  Laos  field. 
^...  "  A  Christian  primary  school  within  the 

_  .  reach  of  every  Christian  Laos  boy  or 
girl,"  has  been  the  watchword  of  the 
mission  within  recent  years.  Until  ten  years  ago, 
little  effort  was  made  to  establish  village  schools. 
The  boarding  schools  in  each  station  did  primary 
work,  but  as  the  number  of  Christians  and  their 
desire  for  education  increased,  some  change  was 


Schools,  the  Press  and  Christian  Literature    153 

necessary.  The  school  accommodation,  the  time 
and  the  means  given  to  primary  work,  were  needed 
for  pupils  of  higher  grade.  Little  by  little,  though 
not  yet  entirely,  the  responsibility  for  this  work 
has  been  laid  on  the  members  and  elders  of  our 
churches.  Self-supporting  primary  schools,  at- 
tended sometimes  by  "  outsiders,"  as  well  as 
Christians,  have  been  gradually  developed.  Natur- 
ally the  most  conspicuous  success  has  been  at- 
tained where  there  is  a  considerable  and  prosperous 
native  Christian  community.  Still,  there  as  here, 
the  teacher  makes  the  school,  and  successful 
schools  have  grown  up  where  outward  conditions 
did  not  seem  favorable.  On  the  other  hand,  out- 
stations  which  should  maintain  a  good  school 
often  fail  to  do  so.  Still,  each  year  sees  a  gain 
in  the  number  and  efficiency  of  self-supporting 
village  schools.  At  its  last  report,  the  mission  had 
twenty-two  of  them  with  over  four  hundred  pupils. 

_  -  ,  Under  the  old  regime,  there  was  no 
lemple  and  •  •       <•        j       ^-       ^1 

^  ^  provision  for  educating  the  women, 

Government  f^  ^  -  1,  ir      r   ^1,      1, 

^  .  .  but  nearly  one  half  of  the  boys 
Schools  ^     -    ■"  u     .     .'       'A 

spent  a  longer  or  shorter  time  in  the 

Buddhist  monasteries  or  temples,  where  they  were 
taught  to  read  and  write,  but  learned  little  else. 
Since  the  Siamese  Government  tightened  its  hold 
upon  the  Laos  provinces  it  has  instituted  many  re- 
forms and  improvements.  Conspicuous  among 
them  are  the  government  free  schools. 
Naturally    these   schools    are    conducted    in    the 


154  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Siamese  language,  but  inasmuch  as  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  Siamese  is  at  present  almost  a  passport  to 
government  employ,  these  schools  are  well  filled, 
and  as  a  whole  do  good  work.  They  are  still  few 
in  number,  but  a  Siamese  superintendent  of  edu- 
cation for  the  north  is  rapidly  developing  their 
number  and  efficiency. 

,    .    _  Education  in  the  temples,  being  for 

1  ^-       f  boys  alone  and  conspicuously  inferior 

__.    .  to  that  offered  in  the  mission  schools, 

,^  ,      -  the  more  that  attendance  there  is  im- 

possible for  a  Christian,  put  no  diffi- 
culty in  the  way  of  maintaining  Christian  village 
and  boarding  schools.  Not  so  with  the  govern- 
ment free  schools.  They  have  developed  a  de- 
mand for  Siamese  that  makes  it  necessary  for  mis- 
sion schools,  even  in  the  villages,  to  teach  Si- 
amese. 

As  yet,  no  mission  school  has  made  that  lan- 
guage the  sole  basis  of  instruction,  as  the  govern- 
ernment  schools  are  doing,  but  it  may  be  necessary 
in  the  end.  The  instruction  in  government  schools 
is  free,  and  where  they  are  established  the  main- 
tenance of  mission  schools  in  which  tuition  is 
charged  is  made  more  difficult.  As  yet,  we  can- 
not teach  the  Siamese  language  as  well  as  they, 
and  the  loyalty  of  the  Laos  people  to  their  own 
language  is  tested  when  we  apply  to  them  for  sup- 
port for  the  Laos  schools.  Mission  schools  must 
maintain  their  existence  by  their  efficiency.  In  the 
boarding  schools  instruction  in  English  has  proved 


Schools,  the  Press  and  Christian  Literature     155 

a  great  attraction.    There  is  general  demand  for 

it,    and    some   government   schools   teach    it,   but 

very  imperfectly. 

_,      _  ^  While     these     government     schools 

The  Future  ,  ..  ,.     ,,      -n    ii,-  ^    ^1 

are    less    distmctly    Buddhist    than 

the  temple  schools,  the  influence  and  instruction, 
as  well  as  some  of  the  books  they  use,  are  not  such 
as  we  wish  for  our  Christian  boys,  and  the  govern- 
ernment  as  yet  makes  little  provision  for  the  edu- 
cation of  girls.  Christian  schools  must  be  main- 
tained, and  their  efficiency  increased.  Even  in  the 
Siamese  language  they  must  come  up  to  the  gov- 
ernment standard.  If  they  do  so,  the  government 
may  aid  Christian  schools  as  they  do  in  India  on 
the  basis  of  inspection  and  examination.  That 
problems  have  grown  more  difficult,  must  only  in- 
crease our  determination  to  solve  them  success- 
fully. We  welcome  the  government  free  schools 
and  would  cooperate  with  them  for  the  educa- 
tion of  all  the  people. 

-^  ,.  I  have  spoken  of  the  e^overnment 
Boardmg         ,      ,     .    ^  ^.  .^^  ... 

^  ,      .   °      schools  m  connection  with  our  village, 

rather  than  our  higher  schools,  because 
the  former  are  more  directly  in  peril.  For  our 
boarding  schools,  the  rivalry  is  wholesome.  It 
makes  self-support  more  difficult,  but  what  good 
school  in  America,  or  elsewhere,  is  supported  by 
tuition  fees?  American  schools  are  endowed,  and 
higher  schools  in  Laos,  as  in  other  mission  lands, 
must  be  endowed,  or  receive  a  more  generous  an- 
nual support  from  mission  funds.     Without  this, 


156  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

they  cannot  provide  the  education  circumstances 

demand. 

.    The  boarding  schools  for  boys  and 

_  ,      f  s:irls  in  Chieng-  Mai    are    the    oldest 

Schools  J  1  .  •     .1,        •     •  T4.  •    4-t 

and  largest  m  the  mission.     It  is  the 

purpose  of  the  mission  to  maintain  in  them  a  higher 
grade  than  in  other  station  schools.  Pupils  who 
have  reached  a  certain  grade  in  other  schools,  are 
expected  to  come  to  Chieng  Mai  for  higher  work. 
From  Lakawn,  from  Chieng  Rai,  and  from  Pre, 
pupils  have  already  been  enrolled.  These  schools 
have  almost  ceased  to  do  primary  work,  and  the 
grade  and  quality  of  work  done  is  being  steadily 
raised.  The  Christian  character  of  the  instruction 
and  influence  is  shown  by  the  numbers  from  all  the 
schools  that  are  received  each  year  into  our  church. 
True,  most  of  them  come  from  Christian  homes, 
but  if  the  schools  do  little  for  "  outsiders,"  they  are 
holding  our  young  people  true  to  Christ,  and  train- 
ing them  for  leadership. 

p  .  Some  years  ago,  the  Crown  Prince  of 

Tj  ,,  Slam  visited  Chieng  Mai,  and  was  in- 
P  ^.  vited  to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  William 

^  Allen  Butler  Hall,  the  new  home  for  the 
boys*  school.  His  Royal  Highness  was  asked  to 
give  the  school  a  new  name.  This  he  graciously 
did,  calling  it  "  Prince  Royal  College."  It  does 
not  yet  do  college  work,  but  it  must  do  so  if  it 
is  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  near  future.  Every 
year  sees  further  steps  in  that  direction.  It  now 
has  two  missionary  instructors,  Messrs.  Harris  and 


Schools,  the  Press  and  Christian  Literature     157 

Palmer,  and  an  efficient  corps  of  native  teachers 
trained  in  its  own  halls.  About  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  regular  pupils  are  enrolled,  and  includ- 
ing a  special  term  of  instruction  for  teachers,  its 
sessions  continue  ten  months  in  the  year.  The 
normal  class  is  held  during  the  vacation  of  the 
regular  school,  and  draws  in,  as  it  is  planned  to 
do,  the  teachers  from  village  schools,  both  men  and 
women,  and  from  the  boarding  schools  in  other 
provinces.  The  training  classes  for  evangelists, 
ministers  and  elders,  have  not  yet  been  as  closely 
associated  with  the  college  as  they  might  be,  but 
plans  for  the  future  include  this.  The  missionary 
physicians  have  taught  classes  in  physiology  and 
hygiene,  and  several  of  the  graduates  of  the  school 
are  in  training  in  the  hospital.  As  definite  medical 
instruction  develops,  it  is  intended  to  make  it  a 
part  of  the  work  of  the  college.  While  it  does  not 
claim  to  measure  up  to  its  name,  its  plans  are 
broad,  and  look  to  the  development  of  a  Christian 
college  that  shall  be  to  the  Christian  Laos  com- 
munity and  nation  all  that  those  words  imply. 
TVi  r*  1  »  While  the  girls'  school  in  Chieng 
^  ,      .  Mai  does  not  reach  as  high  grade,  es- 

pecially in  Siamese  and  in  English,  as 
the  college,  the  grade  and  quality  of  work  done 
have  steadily  improved  under  the  efficient  leader- 
ship of  Miss  Gilson.  Industrial  work,  especially 
sewing  and  weaving,  are  a  prominent  feature  of  the 
school,  and  aid  in  the  direction  of  self-support. 
Here,  too,   some   pupils   are   enrolled   from   other 


158  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

stations.  The  number  of  boarding  pupils  is  even 
larger  than  in  the  college,  although  the  total  of 
boarding  and  day  pupils  is  not  quite  so  large.  Its 
last  report  gave  one  hundred  and  fifteen  pupils  of 
whom  sixty-six  were  boarders.  The  burden  is  far 
too  heavy  ever  to  be  well  carried  by  one  missionary 
teacher,  and  we  rejoice  at  the  action  of  the  board 
that  looks  to  an  increase  in  its  faculty. 
_    ,  The  girls'  school  in  Lakawn  is  a  monu- 

p.  .  ,  ment  to  the  faith  and  efficiency  of  Miss 

«  -  -  Kate  N.  Fleeson,  who  opened  the  school 
and  during  most  of  the  time  until  her 
death  in  1906  continued  to  conduct  it.  Lakawn  is 
a  smaller  city  and  province  than  Chieng  Mai,  so 
that  the  means  at  her  command  were  smaller,  but 
the  attendance  and  the  grade  of  work  done  in  her 
school  placed  it  fully  on  a  par  with  the  larger 
school.  Its  present  comfortable  building,  occu- 
pied a  short  time  before  her  death,  was  erected  with 
materials  and  funds  Miss  Fleeson  herself  solicited, 
largely  in  Lakawn  itself. 

-    ,  The  boys'  school  in  Lakawn  will 
Lakawn  -^              -       ^^         .1     Ti/r 
T>       ,  o  t-     1  soon    occupy    the    Kenneth    Mac- 
Boys'  School  -           •      Tv/r             •    1    i      -1  1- 

kenzie  Memorial  building,  a  con- 
venient and  adequate  brick  structure,  which  means 
much  for  its  future.  Lack  of  adequate  accommo- 
dation, and  still  more  of  means  for  current  ex- 
penses, have  hampered  this  important  school  in  the 
past.  "  Is  it  good  policy,"  said  Dr.  Taylor,  its 
principal,  "  to  pay  several  thousand  dollars  to  place 
a  missionary  on  the  field  and  support  him  until  he 


Schools,  the  Press  and  Christian  Literature     159 

acquires  the  language,  and  then  refuse  two  to  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year  to  enable  him  to  do  efficient 
work  in  his  school?  "  It  is  hoped  that  in  the  future 
this  lack  will  be  supplied. 

^1.  -D  J  ^^  Na^  the  Siamese  commissioner 
•  f  T,  r  showed  his  appreciation  of  the 
mg  bchoois  ^^^^  ^^  mission  schools  by  offer- 
ing to  place  a  missionary  in  charge  of  the  govern- 
ment school,  pay  all  expenses  and  give  him  entire 
freedom  to  teach  Christian  truth.  Difficulties  stood 
in  the  way  of  accepting  this  offer.  A  boys'  school 
has  been  established,  but  buildings  and  equipment 
are  sorely  needed.  The  schools  in  Pre  and  in 
Chieng  Rai  have  been  little  more  than  day  schools, 
and  have  drawn  little  from  the  treasury  of  the  mis- 
sion, but  in  Chieng  Rai  at  least  there  is  immediate 
demand  for  a  school  more  adequate  to  the  needs  of 
that  large  and  growing  Christian  community,  sec- 
ond only  to  Chieng  Mai  in  numbers  and  import- 
ance. 

.    -       When  a  large  number  of  evangelists 

,  T^.,  ,.     1       were     res:ularly    employed     by    the 
and  Bibhcal  •    •        -1  \.  . 

mission,  it  was  easy  to  secure  regu- 
Instruction        ,  ^^     j  ^i.       u.    •   • 

lar     attendance     on     the     training 

classes.       In  1895  reduced  gifts  at  home  made  it 

absolutely  necessary  to   cease  to  pay   evangelists 

and  the  burden  was   laid   upon  the  native  church. 

Even  some  of  the  best  instructed  and  most  efficient 

men  had  to  turn  to  other  employment.     Since  then, 

although  the  number  of  men  sent  out  by  the  native 

church   has   gradually   increased,   and   some   have 


i6o  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

been  regularly  employed  by  the  mission,  training 
classes  with  a  regular  defined  course  have  not  been 
reestablished.  No  new  men  have  been  ordained 
to  the  ministry,  and  as  I  have  already  said,  the 
problem  of  adequate  training  now  presses  upon  the 
mission. 

_  .  .  Training  classes  are  held  each  year  in 
p-  ^    Chieng  Mai  and  in  other  stations,  and 

in  some  of  the  larger  out-stations  of  the 
mission.  These  classes  and  uniform  Bible  lessons 
for  the  Sunday  school  have  promoted  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  its  truths  among  the 
people.  All  realize  that  instruction  in  the  Bible, 
both  in  Sunday  school  and  in  training  classes, 
should  be  more  thorough  and  systematic;  but  such 
is  the  pressure  of  work  upon  our  small  forces  that 
this  need  has  not  yet  been  met. 
^-     p  In  the  chapter  "The  Coming  of  the 

,  ,  Gospel,"  it  was  stated  that  in  the  be- 

-^    ,  ginning  of  the  work  the  Siamese  Bible 

and  hymn  book  and  other  Christian 
literature  were  used  in  schools  and  in  public  wor- 
ship. The  two  languages  are  kindred,  and  the 
Siamese  is  the  language  of  the  rulers  of  the  land. 
The  Laos  is  written  in  a  dififerent  character,  and  no 
type  to  print  it  was  in  existence.  Not  until  1893 
did  the  arrival  of  the  press  and  a  font  of  Laos  type 
put  a  Laos  Christian  literature  within  reach.  Since 
that  time  the  work  of  the  press  in  Chieng  Mai  has 
gradually  grown.  It  is  not  only  the  only  press 
in  the  world  equipped  to  print  the  Laos  character. 


Schools,  the  Press  and  Christian  Literature     i6i 

but  it  also  does  much  printing  in  Siamese,  in  Eng- 
lish and  occasionally  in  French.  Over  three  mil- 
lion pages  are  printed  each  year.  Rather  less  than 
half  of  this  is  printed  for  the  Bible  Society  and  the 
mission,  the  balance  is  printed  for  the  government 
and  for  other  outside  parties,  and  has  made  the 
press  in  recent  years  a  self-supporting  part  of  our 
v^ork. 

_-    .        Matthew,    a     Catechism,    and     Laos 
J  .  reading    books    were    first     printed. 

An  arithmetic,  a  geography,  a  Life 
of  Christ,  Pilgrim's  Progress  and  a 
part  of  the  Old  Testament  history,  were  reprinted 
with  little  change  from  the  Siamese  in  which  they 
had  been  originally  written.  It  soon  appeared 
that  these  Siamo-Laos  books  did  not  meet  the 
need.  A  real  Laos  literature  was  called  for  and  is 
gradually  being  supplied.  One  fourth  of  the  Bible 
has  been  translated  into  the  Laos  language,  and 
each  year  sees  some  addition  to  it.  A  General  His- 
tory, Bible  Stories,  a  Life  of  Christ  for  Schools, 
Letters  of  See  Mo  (written  from  America  by  a  na- 
tive Laos  man),  Chandra  Lela,  A  Story  of  Indian 
Life, — these  indicate  the  range  of  the  Christian 
literature  our  press  is  providing. 

Still,  only  the  beginnings  of  a  vernacular  Chris- 
tian literature  have  yet  been  made.  A  Laos 
monthly  paper,  which  gives  a  summary  of  the 
world's  news,  contributed  articles  of  various  sorts 
and  comments  on  the  Sunday  school  lesson,  has  a 
considerable  circulation. 


1 62  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

rry.      TT  1      Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson,  D.  D.,  one 

The  Hymnal        r  ^^  \        r        .  r\-u       •    • 

•^  of  the  two  founders  of  the  mission, 

has  not  only  shared  in  Bible  translation,  but  he 
has  given  himself  especially  to  the  preparation  of 
hymns.  He  has  translated  more  than  five  hundred 
of  our  best  English  and  American  hymns,  and  com- 
posed some  original  hymns  in  the  Laos  tongue. 
The  Laos  people  are  very  fond  of  singing.  Many 
a  Christian  who  has  only  a  small  part  of  the  Bible, 
carries  his  hymnal  wherever  he  goes.  Even  non- 
Christian  people  sometimes  join  in  singing  these 
beautiful  hymns,  and  the  gospel  is  singing  its  way 
to  the  hearts  of  the  Laos  people,  and  will  continue 
to  do  so  when  Father  Wilson,  our  sweet  singer, 
has  passed  away.  Such  tunes  as  "  Onward, 
Christian  Soldiers,"  "  The  Son  of  God  Goes  Forth 
to  War,"  "  Luther's  Hymn,"  "  Austrian  Hymn,"  and 
"  Aurelia,"  are  constantly  and  well  sung,  in  our 
Laos  churches. 

Other  text-books  for  our  schools  and  for  our 
evangelistic  classes,  and  Christian  books  for  gen- 
eral reading,  and  still  more,  the  balance  of  the 
Bible  in  their  own  tongue,  are  needs  that  the  Laos 
church  and  mission  recognize,  and  seek  to  supply. 
But  such  work,  if  it  is  to  be  well  done,  must  be  done 
slowly.  As  a  whole,  even  our  Christian  Laos 
people  are  not  a  reading  or  a  book-buying  people. 
The  growth  of  the  schools  and  literature,  with  their 
common  demands  on  the  press  must  grow  to- 
gether. 


The  Aim  of 
Mission  Work 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  NATIVE   CHURCH 

Dr.  Lawrence  well  said  that  the 
aim  of  Christian  missions  is  to 
establish  "  a  vital  native  church/* 
and  to  "  train  it  from  the  first  in  the  principles  of 
self-reliance,  self-control  and  self-propagation."  No 
hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  laid  down  by  which  we 
can  measure  the  success  of  mission  work,  but  the 
number  of  members  enrolled  tells  far  less  than  the 
establishment  of  a  church  such  as  Dr.  Lawrence  de- 
scribes. Has  the  work  among  the  Laos  people  de- 
veloped such  a  church?  A  brief  statement  of  the 
work  that  church  is  doing,  with  vignettes  of  some 
of  its  leaders,  is  the  best  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion. 

-p,    I  I  have  said  in  another  place  that  in 

G  th  f  ^^^  ^^^  years  from  1884  to  1894,  the 
th  La  s  enrollment  of  the  Laos  church  grew 
Chu  ch  ^^°^    ^"^    hundred    and    fifty-two    to 

eighteen  hundred  and  forty-one,  a 
more  than  tenfold  increase  in  ten  years.  In  the  ten 
years  that  followed,  although  the  absolute  increase 
was  nearly  as  large,  relatively  it  was  far  smaller. 
Does  this  mean  that  effort  was  less  earnest,  or  less 
successful  than  in  earlier  years?    Not  necessarily. 

163 


164  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

The  Laos  church  found  itself  in  1894 
The  Situa-  with  a  large  number  of  believers  who 
tion  in  were    little    instructed    in     Christian 

1894  truth.     Up  to  that  time,  the  way  to 

employment  as  evangelists  and  help- 
ers, paid  by  the  mission,  had  been  rather  easy. 
Persecution  had  practically  ceased,  and  some  had 
come  into  all  the  churches  with  a  stronger  impres- 
sion of  the  privileges  than  of  the  duties  of  believ- 
ers. Providentially,  we  doubt  not,  the  necessity 
arose  for  a  retrenchment.  Evangelists  could  no 
longer  be  freely  employed.  Instead,  the  duty  of 
contributing  to  the  support  of  work  among  them, 
that  had  hitherto  been  paid  for  mainly  out  of  for- 
eign funds,  was  laid  upon  the  churches. 

-       -  This  sudden  change  of  attitude  on 

^.  the   part    of   the    mission,   however 

tne  Change  ^  .^  u         I 

necessary  it  may    have    been,    was 

difficult  to  understand.  It  took  time  for  the  church 
to  adjust  itself  to  the  situation.  Most  of  its  lead- 
ers loyally  accepted  the  burden  laid  on  them,  and 
increasingly  year  by  year  this  initiative  in  Christian 
work  has  been  taken  by  the  churches.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Laos  church  had  never  been  "  rice  Chris- 
tians," yet  they  had  leaned  upon  the  missionaries 
before  1894,  and  expected  more  moral  and  financial 
help  than  the  mission  has  since  then  been  able  to 
give.  The  action  of  the  mission  taken  in  December, 
1895,  which  definitely  discontinued  the  old  system 
of  employing  evangelists,  was  the  "  stirring  up  of 


The  Native  Church  165 

the  eagle's  nest."     It  marked  the  end  of  the  first 
stage  of  missionary  effort  among  the  Laos  people. 
_,     --  An  elder  who  was  recently  called  as 

r  ^1,        3,  witness  in  court  says:     "The  judge 
-      p.  and  those  around  him,  when  I  asked 

to  take  oath  according  to  the  religion 
of  the  Christians,  asked  me  why  I  had  entered  the 
religion  of  the  foreigners.  I  answered  that  it  was 
not  the  religion  of  the  foreigners,  but  the  religion 
of  the  one  true  God  for  all  the  world."  Whatever 
it  may  have  been  before,  when  the  responsibility 
for  native  evangelists  was  laid  upon  and  assumed 
by  the  native  church,  that  church  could  no  longer 
be  called  the  church  or  the  religion  of  the  for- 
eigner. For  a  few  years  accessions  to  the  churches 
were  smaller.  Some  who  had  professed  them- 
selves Christians  ceased  to  attend  services.  Two 
or  three  churches  were  more  seriously  affected  than 
the  rest,  and  even  to-day  report  a  smaller  member- 
ship than  in  1894.  But  these  changes  were  mainly 
a  consolidation,  a  gathering  of  strength  for  a  new 
advance. 

,  After  three  or  four  years   when   pro- 

gress  seemed  small  and  doubtful,  ac- 
cessions to  the  churches  began  again 
to  increase,  and  that  increase  has  gone  on  steadily 
for  ten  years.  Proportionally,  accessions  have 
never  reached  the  standard  of  the  ingatherings  of 
1884  to  1893,  but  in  actual  numbers  received,  1908 
surpassed  any  year  that  had  preceded  it,  three  hun- 


i66  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

dred  and  thirty-one  having  been  received  on  con- 
fession. The  church  has  grown  more  in  inteUigence 
than  in  numbers ;  it  has  developed  leaders  and  self- 
reliance;  it  has  grown  in  all  that  makes  the  church 
of  God  a  power  on  the  earth.  It  has  grown  in  its 
conception  of  what  it  meanc  to  be  a  Christian  and 
in  the  standard  of  Christian  conduct  it  sets  up.  The 
Laos  church  has  to-day  an  "  esprit  de  corps,"  and 
a  standing  in  the  community  very  different  from 
anything  it  possessed  in  the  days  of  its  most  rapid 
growth. 

.^  ^    The  writer  wishes  not  to   be    misunder- 

Irrescnt 

-_  ,  stood.  The  Laos  church  has  not  yet  at- 
tained its  majority.  There  is  still  much 
that  discourages.  Were  missionaries  withdrawn, 
the  native  church,  which  numbers  hardly  one  com- 
municant in  a  thousand  of  the  native  community, 
would  find  it  difficult  to  stand  and  grow.  The 
people  need  the  moral  support  and  encouragement, 
the  guidance  and  constant  help  of  the  missionary. 
They  need  still  more  such  a  revival  of  vital  religion, 
such  a  heart  experience  of  God  and  his  truth,  as  has 
been  experienced  in  Manchuria  and  in  other  parts 
of  China  and  of  India.  They  need,  the  mission- 
aries need,  the  church  at  home  needs,  a  new  bap- 
tism of  the  Spirit. 

-  --  While   an   adequately   trained    and   or- 

_  dained  ministry  is  lacking  in   the    Laos 

^^  field,   and    services   almost   everywhere 

are  conducted  by  the  elders,  so  that  the  local  ex- 
penses are  small,  it  still  is  true  and  important  that 


The  Native  Church  167 

no  money  from  America  goes  to  the  support  of  any 
Laos  church.  In  most  cases,  too,  the  church  pays 
a  part  of  the  salary  of  evangeHsts  and  shares  in  the 
oversight  of  their  work.  A  larger  sum  is  contrib- 
uted by  the  churches  for  native  evangelists  than  is 
sent  from  America.  The  work  of  all  the  dispensar- 
ies and  of  the  press  is  self-supporting.  Primary 
schools  in  nearly  every  case  are  on  a  self-support- 
ing basis.  Chapels  and  churches  are  usually  built, 
repaired  and  maintained  by  the  gifts  of  the  native 
church. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  to-day, 
^   '         ,  the    primary    work    of    evangelism, 

Propagation     ^^^^^-^^^    ^^d    drawing    to    Christ 

those  who  are  not  yet  believers,  is  done  mainly  by 
native  Christians.  Their  work  is  often  clinched  and 
completed  by  the  visit  and  influence  of  the  mission- 
ary, but  in  this,  as  in  many  other  respects,  we  re- 
joice to  see  that  the  native  Christian  increases, 
while  the  missionary  decreases. 

p  Nothing  more  vividly  illustrates  the 

growing  strength  of  the  Laos  churches 
than  the  Laos  conventions.  The 
strongest  church  in  a  district,  or  different  churches 
in  turn,  invite  the  members  of  other  churches  to  be 
their  guests,  and  a  two  to  five  days'  programme  of 
addresses,  practical  discussions  and  Bible  study  is 
arranged.  An  increasing  share  each  year  is  taken 
by  our  native  brethren.  In  twenty-three  out  of 
thirty-two  services  at  Chieng  Rai,  they  were  the 
leaders.     Held  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  little 


1 68  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

work  is  done  in  the  fields,  embodying  something 
of  the  light-hearted  good-fellowship  that  marks  na- 
tive festivals,  giving  to  isolated  Christians  an  op- 
portunity once  in  a  year  to  realize  the  meaning  of 
Christian  fellowship,  these  gatherings  have  become 
a  regular  part  of  the  programme  of  the  year.  "  The 
whole  meeting,"  says  Dr.  Wilson  in  Lakawn,  *'  was 
a  time  of  good  things  from  God  that  refreshed  and 
gladdened  us  all."  "The  gathering  in  Chieng 
Rai,"  says  Dr.  Crooks,  "was  well  attended  and 
richly  blessed  of  God." 

A   son   of  the  martyrs  said   in   Me 
A  Contrast      ^^^^     j^^^^    ^^    ^^^     convention: 

"  These  gatherings  are  great ;  why,  I  can  recall  the 
time  when  I  knew  every  Christian,"  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  count  on  his  fingers.  "  We  met  in  a 
small  house  in  Dr.  McGilvary's  yard,  just  a  hand- 
ful of  us.  Those  who  passed  by  would  peep 
through  the  fence  and  say,  '  Witches !  Witches ! ' 
Now  what  a  change.  Christians  come  to  this  con- 
vention from  all  over  the  land." 
_      .         Not  only  are  they  planning  and  giving 

,,.    .         and  laboring:  for  the  evan8:elization  of  the 

Mission    J.  ,  .  ,  ^u     J  u  4.  ^u 

-^    ,         districts  near  at  hand,  but  more  than  once 

the  native  church  has  definitely  com- 
mitted itself  to  the  work  beyond  the  borders  of 
Siam  and  among  a  population  that  is  largely  aborig- 
inal, and  understands  little  of  the  Laos  tongue. 
In  addition,  companies  of  Christian  women  led  by 
Mrs.  McKean  in  Chieng  Mai,  and  more  recently  in 
other  stations,  meet  each  month  to  study  the  mis- 


The  Native  Church  169 

sion  fields  of  the  world.     Their  contributions  are 

divided  between  evangelistic  work  near  home  and 

work  for  the  blind  in  Canton,  China. 

_-      _.      -  Sketches  of  Kroo  Nan  Ta,  our  first 

The  Leaaers  .  .  .  ^  j     r  -r^     t^ 

native  minister,  and  of  Dr.  Keo  m 

Chieng  Mai  Hospital  have  already  been  given.     I 

will  close  4:he  chapter  with  vignettes  of  a  pastor,  a 

teacher,   an   evangelist,  and   a   Christian   business 

man,  four  Christian  leaders  from  as  many  different 

provinces. 

As  an  example  of  a  pastor,  I  choose 
A  Pastor — Kham  Ai  of  Chieng  Kham.  Though 
Kham  Ai     never  ordained,  save  as  the  first  elder 

of  the  church  in  Nan,  he  was  sent  by 
that  church  to  begin  work  in  what  is  now  its  most 
important  out-station.  Whatever  that  growing 
group  of  believers  is,  it  owes  under  God  to  this 
native  pastor.  A  son  of  Christian  parents  in 
Chieng  Mai,  he  had  become  a  h-elper  in  the  dis- 
pensary in  Nan.  His  knowledge  of  medicine  has 
been  a  constant  help  to  him  in  his  work.  Nine 
days  distant  from  Nan  over  high  mountains,  at  best 
the  missionary  can  visit  him  only  once  a  year.  His 
isolation  and  the  dependence  of  the  work  on  his  in- 
dividual effort  is  as  complete  as  if  he  were  a  mis- 
sionary in  a  foreign  land,  although  this  distant  out- 
post is  counted  an  integral  part  of  Nan  church. 

A  Teacher—  ^^  ^^^^'  ^  ^^^  ^^  ^  ^°°^  Christian 

_,,,      -  family    had    nearly    completed    the 

Elder  La  •    xt,     u       »      u     ^  •    r-w 

course  in  the  boys    school  in  Chieng 

Mai.    He  went  to  Chieng  Mai  soon  after  that  sta- 


lyo  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

tion  was  opened,  being  employed  in  some  capacity 
by  one  of  the  missionaries,  and  he  married  there. 
He  already  had  shown  himself  apt  to  teach,  and 
when  a  parochial,  self-supporting  school  was  begun 
in  Chieng  Mai,  in  1898,  he  was  its  teacher.  He 
gave  excellent  satisfaction,  and  became  Sunday 
school  superintendent  and  elder,  as  well-  as  village 
teacher.  That  school  has  grown  in  numbers  and 
in  importance  with  the  growth  of  the  Christian 
community,  and  now  has  four  teachers  of  whom 
he  is  the  leader.  Less  highly  trained  than  some 
other  teachers  in  the  mission,  he  still  is,  so  far  as  the 
writer  is  aware,  the  senior  of  them  all  in  continuous, 
faithful  service.  Personally,  the  writer  looks  to 
him  and  men  like  him,  trained  in  our  boarding 
schools,  then  employed  as  teachers,  to  supply  the 
need  of  a  trained  ministry. 

A     F  r  t      ^3.n  Pun  had  been  employed  at  a 

^       p  good  salary  as  an  "  assistant "  to 

the  English  engineer  in  charge  of 
railway  surveys.  In  1905  he  met  with  a  serious 
injury  which  will  make  him  lame  for  life,  and  was 
sent  to  the  mission  hospital  in  Lakawn.  He  was 
already  an  educated  and  exceptionally  intelligent 
man,  as  his  title  Nan  shows,  and  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures  convinced  him  that  only  in  Christ,  not 
in  Buddha,  could  he  find  rest  and  salvation.  When 
he  recovered  he  at  once  asked  to  be  baptized.  Al- 
though a  lucrative  government  position  was  offered 
him,  he  gladly  remained  as  teacher  in  the  boys* 
school  at  less   than  half  the  salary,  that  he  might 


The  Native  Church  171 

study  to  be  an  evangelist.  His  first  concern  was 
for  his  family  in  Lampoon.  So  far  only  one  of 
them  has  yielded  to  his  persuasions,  but  with  his 
wife's  relatives  in  Pre,  he  has  been  more  success- 
ful. Six  homes  in  their  village  have  torn  down  the 
spirit  shrines  and  declared  themselves  Christians. 
Still,  during  term  time,  Nan  Pun  is  a  teacher  and 
student.  In  the  vacations,  he  is  active  as  an  evan- 
gelist, even  if  he  is  lame.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
promising  of  all  our  helpers,  and  despite  his  youth, 
a  leader  in  Lakawn. 
.   p,    .    .  About  1885  a  returning  missionary 

T>     .  Tv/r         from    Laos   brous^ht   with   him   to 

Busmess  Man—.        .      ^.  <•  tvt       ^i_  • 

«       ^  America  the  son  of  Nan  Chai,  one 

of  the  earliest  Christians  in  Chieng 
Mai,  and  a  man  of  considerable  means.  Though 
See  Mo  came  no  farther  than  San  Francisco  and 
remained  there  only  a  year,  he  is  the  only  Laos 
man  who  has  seen  as  much  as  that  of  the  "  outside 
country."  His  letters  descriptive  of  what  he  saw 
in  strange  lands  have  been  printed  by  the  press, 
and  are  much  read  by  his  countrymen.  He  is  an 
elder  in  Chieng  Mai  church,  a  merchant  and  a 
timber  dealer,  perhaps  the  man  of  largest  means  in 
the  native  church.  He  occupies  a  most  comfort- 
able house,  built  after  the  foreign  style,  though 
adapted  to  native  use.  He  is  a  reader  of  several 
American  and  English  periodicals,  speaks  English 
perfectly  and  is  an  earnest  Bible  student  and  su- 
perintendent of  the  Sunday  school.  He  was  ap- 
pointed chairman  of  a  commitee  of  the  native  pres- 


172  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

bytery  to  foster  and  support  Christian  village 
schools.  He  is  but  one  of  a  dozen  Christian  busi- 
ness men  who  might  be  named,  mostly  men  edu- 
cated in  our  schools,  busy  men  but  ever  ready  to 
give  time  and  thought  to  the  interests  of  the  com- 
ing kingdom. 


CHAPTER   XV 

OPPORTUNITIES,   OUTLOOK,   NEEDS 

.      -.  The  question  is  often  asked,  why  have 

An  Open     ..     j  ,  a  ^ 

^  the  Laos  people  proved  more  open  to 

the  gospel  than  others  on  whom  Bud- 
dhism has  laid  its  hand?  The  answer  seems  to  be 
somewhat  as  follows : 

First.  Scratch  the  Laos  Buddhist,  and  you  find  a 
spirit-worshiper,  Spirit  worship,  not  Buddhism, 
was  the  original,  is  the  actual,  religion  of  the  Laos 
people.  Their  sense  of  spiritual  realities  makes  it 
easier  to  present  to  them  a  spiritual  religion. 

Second.  Another  fact  closely  related  to  this,  is 
that  the  Laos  are  a  more  religious  people  than  the 
Siamese  or  the  Burmese.  This  is  probably  because 
the  deadening,  atheistic  tendencies  of  Buddhism 
have  had  less  influence  upon  them. 

Third.  To  men  and  women  who,  from  their 
earliest  recollection,  have  lived  in  fear  of  the 
demons,  the  gospel  of  a  loving  Saviour  who  can 
and  will  drive  out  the  evil  spirit,  comes  with  a  mes- 
sage of  deliverance.  Once  understood,  it  appeals 
to  them  in  a  way  that  we  in  Christian  America 
hardly  understand. 

Fourth.  The  Messianic  hope  of  Buddhism, 
scarcely  known  in  Burma,  less  emphasized  among 

173 


174  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

the  Siamese,  gives  to  the  gospel  a  point  of  approach 
to  the  heart  of  every  thoughtful  Laos  man  or 
v^roman.  "  He  for  v^hose  coming  you  long  has  al- 
ready come." 

Fifth.  The  comparatively  high  moral  standards 
of  the  Laos,  not  derived  from  Buddhism,  but  a  part 
of  their  national  inheritance  and  character,  have 
prepared  the  w^ay  for  the  coming  of  the  gospel. 

^.  ^  Had  the  missionaries  gone  to 

Circumstances  'it  •       o  i         -r^ 

rnt.  ^  rr  tt  i  j  the  Laos  m  183c;,  when  Dr. 
That  Have  Helped     -n     ,.        .  ^     , 

Bradley   began    work   among 

the  Siamese,  they  would  have  found  political  con- 
ditions so  confused,  and  life  and  property  so  in- 
secure, that  perhaps  little  could  have  been  accom- 
plished. British  rule  in  Burma,  and  more  direct 
enforcement  of  Siamese  authority  in  the  Laos 
states,  have  prompted  peace,  protected  the  persons 
of  the  missionaries,  and  given  time  and  opportunity 
to  the  people  to  listen  to  their  message.  Changing 
political  and  social  conditions,  an  awakened  interest 
in  education,  increasing  knowledge  of  the  world,  or 
desire  for  such  knowledge,  make  the  leaders  of  the 
people  to-day  peculiarly  open  to  new  influences, 
religious  as  well  as  social. 

■R/r  ^1,   J     mi_  ^      The  emphasis  placed  at  the  first 

Methods  That  ^       i-  .•       a-       , 

TT        xj  1     ^        upon  evangelistic  eitort  has  never 

ceased  to  be  a  marked  feature  of 
mission  work  among  the  Laos.  Whatever  institu- 
tional or  routine  work  may  fall  to  their  share,  all 
missionaries — the  women  as  well  as  the  men — 
are  expected  to  share  in  hand-to-hand  evangelistic 
work.     Of  this  work  schools  have  been  the  result, 


Opportunities,  Outlook,  Needs  175 

not  the  precursors.  The  school  has  not  been 
needed  to  open  the  way  into  the  home,  but  rather 
to  train  the  children  of  homes  already  open.  Medi- 
cal work  is  useful  in  all  fields,  but  more  perhaps 
than  in  most  fields  medical  work  has  among  the 
Laos  won  friendship,  removed  prejudice  and  opposi- 
tion, and  exemplified  the  real  meaning  of  the  gospel. 
That  indifference  to  all  spiritual  facts 
f  Pi  M  t  and  realities  which  is  a  marked  result 
to  Be  Met  ^^  Buddhist  teaching,  is  the  greatest 
obstacle  mission  work  must  overcome.  Neither  the 
Laos  nor  any  other  non-Christian  people  can  be 
said  to  be  hungering  for  the  gospel.  Individuals 
may  show  themselves  prepared  for  its  reception, 
but  only  a  Christian  heart  full  of  love  and  helpful- 
ness can  overcome  indifference  and  awaken  desire 
for  higher  things. 

A  second  obstacle  is  the  ties  of  kindred,  of 
friendship  and  of  custom.  To  convince  a  Laos 
man  or  woman  of  the  truth  is  easier  than  to  per- 
suade him  to  break  away  from  these  ties  and  follow 
Christ.  Of  open  persecution  there  is  now  little;  of 
secret  opposition,  of  the  inertia  that  is  slow  to 
break  with  the  past  or  allow  others  to  do  so,  there 
is  still  much.  The  warp  of  Buddhism  and  the  woof 
of  spirit  worship  are  so  interwoven  in  the  whole  life 
of  the  people  that  it  requires  much  faith  and  cour- 
age to  break  away. 

Finally,  although  moral  conditions  are  vastly 
better  than  in  India  or  China,  even  when  indiffer- 
ence is  overcome,  when  despite  opposition,  decision 
for  Christ  has  been  made,  we  must  still  constantly 


176  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

remember  in  dealing  with  the  new  convert  the  pit 
out  of  which  he  was  digged.  Offenses  against  the 
moral  law  among  professed  Christians  often  sadden 
the  missionary.  He  must  often  remember  the  in- 
junction, "  Ye  who  are  spiritual,  restore  such  a  one 
in  a  spirit  of  gentleness." 

^,  First.     We  are  encouraged  by  the  grow- 

_  .  ,  ing  self-dependence  of  the  native 
church.  Its  leaders  welcome  the  mis- 
sionary as  counselor,  friend  and  teacher,  yet  often 
reverse  the  situation  and  really  become  themselves 
his  advisers  and  leaders.  God  grant  that  this  may 
increasingly  be  true  as  the  years  go  on! 

Second.  The  number  in  the  Laos  land  who  in- 
cline to  accept  the  truth,  but  have  not  yet  broken 
away  from  old  ties,  as  well  as  of  earnest  inquirers, 
is  increasing.  We  pray  and  labor  for,  and  we  must 
expect  in  the  near  future,  a  larger  turning  to 
God  than  we  have  yet  seen.  May  we  be  ready  in 
the  day  of  his  power! 

Third.  The  very  fact  just  stated,  and  the  open 
door  among  the  native  leaders,  emphasize  the 
danger  lest,  if  we  do  not  enter  with  the  gospel, 
these  doors  may  be  closed.  Commercialism,  ab- 
sorption in  material  things,  the  rush  of  modern 
life,  all  are  coming  in  like  a  flood.  Even  to-day 
many  of  the  young  men,  particularly  those  who  are 
under  the  influence  of  Siamese  officials,  ar^  less 
open  to  the  gospel  than  they  were  five  years  ago. 
Less  universally  perhaps  than  in  China  and  Korea, 
but  nevertheless  truly,  it  is  a  time  of  crisis  in  Laos. 


Opportunities,  Outlook,  Needs  177 

Fourth.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  promising 
as  conditions  are  in  some  parts  of  the  lanid,  the 
great  bulk  of  the  area  and  of  the  Laos  people  are 
still  totally  untouched  by  the  gospel.  French 
and  Chinese  Laos  are  among  the  great  unoccupied 
fields  of  the  world.  Even  in  Siam  itself,  half  the 
Laos  people  are  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  our 
organized  work,  and  of  those  within  reach  only  a 
small  proportion  have  really  heard  the  gospel.  Of 
the  Laos  in  Siam,  only  one  in  one  thousand  is  a 
member  of  our  church.  On  the  average,  each 
Laos  missionary  finds  an  area  as  large  as  several 
counties  and  a  population  of  two  hundred  thousand 
persons  accounted  his  parish,  with  two  hundred 
scattered,  imperfectly  instructed  believers,  most  of 
them  very  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  as  his  work- 
ing force.  I  ask  once  more,  in  view  of  the  vastness 
of  the  field  yet  to  be  reached,  in  view  also  of  the 
burden  of  the  work  upon  the  mission  and  of  the 
responsibility  for  that  work  that  God  lays  upon  the 
church  at  home : 

Is  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America  planning  for  anything  less  than  the 
conquest  of  the  whole  Laos  race  for  Christ? 

What  ought  the  church,  what  ought  you,  to  do? 
^  -  First.  Larger  income  for  educational 
work  is  counted  by  the  mission  its  most 
pressing  present  need.  The  grade  of  our  higher 
schools  must  be  raised,  and  we  should  be  able  to 
accept  all  qualified  pupils  even  if  they  cannot  pay 
much  tuition.     We  must  train  the  leaders. 


178  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Second.  The  force  of  missionaries  must  be  so 
increased  that  furloughs  can  be  taken  without 
crippling  the  work.  Existing  stations  must  be 
fairly  manned.  At  present,  even  when  all  are  on 
the  field,  not  a  single  station  can  be  said  to  be 
adequately  manned. 

Third.  Foreign  funds  should  be  available  for 
evangelistic  work,  so  that  we  can  assure  our  help- 
ers of  regular  and  continuous  employment  at 
wages  not  too  much  below  the  compensation  in 
other  employment.  We  should  be  able  to  say  to 
a  church:  If  you  will  send  out  one  evangelist  we 
will  send  another  to  travel  and  work  with  him. 
We  expect  the  native  church  to  do  its  share,  but 
we  must  cooperate    with  and  help  them. 

Fourth.  We  need  missionaries  and  native  help- 
ers to  go  into  the  regions  that  are  beyond  the  limits 
of  our  present  stations,  and  organize  and  man  new 
stations.  Expenditures  for  houses,  for  dispen- 
saries and  for  school  buildings  are  to  be  provided. 

Above  all,  the  Laos  church  needs  that,  by  a 
fuller  knowledge  of  its  needs,  the  church  at  home 
may  be  able  to  pray  more  intelligently  for  the  work 
in  the  fair  Land  of  the  Free,  and  more  heartily  to 
cooperate  with  the  Christians  at  work  there.  If 
the  church  at  home  does  its  share,  with  the  bless- 
ing of  Him  in  whose  name  we  all  labor,  we  may 
surely  hope  to  see  the  Laos  race  brought  to  Christ 
in  our  day  and  generation.  That  he  may  live  to 
see  this  is  the  hope  and  prayer  of  the  writer  of 
these  lines. 


QUESTIONS   FOR   STUDY 

The  following  questions  have  been  prepared  for  the  use 
of  those  studying  this  book.  In  accordance  with  the  An- 
nouncement facing  Chapter  I,  which  all  leaders  of  classes 
should  read  with  care,  questions  on  Chapters  V  to  IX  have 
been  omitted. 

The  purpose  of  these  questions  is  not  merely  to  review 
the  text,  but  to  promote  independent  thought  and  discussion. 
Review  questions,  appealing  merely  to  memory,  are  of  value 
only  as  preliminary  to  discussion  and  can  easily  be  framed 
by  any  person  of  average  intelligence.  The  questions  given 
below  demand  the  exercise  of  individual  judgment  as  well 
as  knowledge  of  the  text;  in  a  few  cases  the  text  will  be 
found  of  no  aid  whatever. 

It  is  not  supposed  that  the  average  student  will  be  able  to 
answer  all  these  questions  satisfactorily  or  that  all  students 
will  agree  in  their  conclusions.  It  is  intended  rather  that 
students  shall  come  to  the  class  session  with  questions  un- 
answered and  opinions  sometimes  in  opposition,  so  that  there 
may  be  a  real  basis  for  discussion. 

Some  of  these  questions  may  be  specially  indicated  by  the 
leader  for  discussion  at  the  following  session.  In  no  case 
will  it  be  advisable  to  try  to  cover  the  entire  list.  Better 
concentration  on  a  few  well-adapted  questions  than  a  hurried 
review  of  all.  Circumstances  will  determine  the  selection 
for  each  class.  For  some  the  main  value  of  the  questions 
will  be  to  suggest  others  that  are  better. 

In  working  out  the  questions  the  free  use  of  pencil  and 
paper  is  recommended.  Ideas  which  are  the  result  of  reflec- 
tion should  be  jotted  down,  and  pertinent  passages  in  the 
text  once  more  consulted  for  further  light.  The  mere  at- 
tempt to  formulate  usually  helps  to  stir  up  new  ideas  that 

179 


i8o  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

would  not  otherwise  arise.    All  this  tends  to  give  an  appetite 
for  the  class  session. 


Questions  on  Chapter  I 

1.  How  would  you  state  the  missionary  responsibility  of 
the  Christian  church? 

2.  How  would  you  determine  the  missionary  responsibility 
of  any  single  Christian  denomination? 

3.  To  what  extent  is  the  responsibility  of  any  church  de- 
termined by  the  average  of  what  other  churches  do? 

4.  What  can  you  say  as  to  the  responsibility  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  (North)   at  home? 

5.  What  can  you  say  as  to  its  responsibility  abroad? 

6.  Name  all  the  points  you  can  that  give  one  field  a  greater 
claim  than  another. 

7.  How  far  should  the  quality  of  its  people  affect  the  claim 
of  any  field? 

8.  How   far  should  the   strategic  position  of  a  field  as  a 
base  for  future  operations  affect  its  claim? 

9.  How  far  does  exclusive  occupation  of  a  field  affect  its 
claim  on  the  occupying  body? 

10.  For  what  missionary  work  in  the  world  Is  the  Presby- 
terian Church  exclusively  responsible? 

11.  How  do  the  Laos  compare  in  number,  for  example,  wItK 
the  North  American  Indians? 


Questions  for  Study  i8i 

12.  How  do  they  compare  in  probable  future  influence? 

13.  How  does  their  field  compare  with  that  of  the  North 
American  Indians  as  a  base  for  future  operations? 

14.  How  does  it  compare  in  the  number  of  Christian  agen- 
cies engaged? 

15.  Name  the  advantages  to  missionary  work  of  having  a 
single  language  for  a  large  population,  as  is  true  for  the  Tai 
race. 

16.  What  are  the  advantages  for  the  missionary  of  ap- 
proaching a  new  people  with  a  previous  knowledge  of  their 
language  ? 

17.  How  will  this  widespread  knowledge  of  a  language  af- 
fect the  work  of  native  evangelists? 

18.  How  long  do  you  think  it  would  take  you  to  become  a 
really  effective  preacher  in  a  new  language? 

19.  How  are  the  problems  of  missionary  literature  compli- 
cated by  having  several  languages  in  a  single  field? 

20.  Why  is  a  time  of  transition  in  any  field  especially  im- 
portant for  missionary  work? 

21.  How  many  missionaries  would  we  have  in  the  United 
States  if  it  were  manned  no  better  than  the  Laos  field?* 

22.  How  many  missionaries  would  you  have  in  the  state 
in  which  you  reside? 

23.  Sum  up  the  claim  of  the  Laos  field  upon  the  Presby- 
terian Church. 

*  See  Appendix  B. 


i82  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 


Questions  on  Chapter  II 

1.  Why  cannot  the  religions  of  Asia  take  any  credit  for 
the  high  position  of  woman  among  the  Laos? 

2.  Which  is  better,  the  Chinese  custom  that  a  wife  enter 
the  husband's  family,  or  the  Laos  custom  that  the  husband 
enter  the  wife's? 

3.  What  is  the  effect  upon  the  wife  in  the  former  instance? 

4.  What  is  the  effect  upon  the  character  of  the  husband  in 
the  latter  instance? 

5.  Contrast  with  this  the  Christian  custom  that  the  young 
people  set  up  a  separate  home. 

6.  What  would  be  the  practical  effects  of  the  Laos  custom 
of  inheritance? 

7.  Contrast  divorce  among  the  Laos  with  that  among  the 
Mohammedans. 

8.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  such 
strict  observation  of  custom  as  obtain  among  the  Laos? 


Questions  on  Chapter  III 

1.  What  do  you  consider  the  strongest  point  in  Buddhism 
as  seen  among  the  Laos? 

2.  What  are  its  worst  features? 

3.  Why  do  you  think  it  succeeded  in  spreading  as  it  has 
among  the  Laos? 


Questions  for  Study  183 

4.  Compare  the  Ten  Commandments  of  Buddha  with  those 
of  Moses,  and  state  the  main  differences. 

5.  Give  reasons  why  you  approve  or  disapprove  of  the  last 
five  Commandments  of  Buddha. 

6.  Compare  the  Ten  Commandments  of  Buddha  with  the 
two  great  Commandments  given  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  state 
the  difference. 

7.  What  do  you  think  would  be  the  practical  effect  on  life 
of  the  doctrine  of  Karma? 

8.  What  would  be  the  practical  effect  upon  life  of  ignoring 
the  existence  of  God? 

9.  What  would  be  the  practical  effect  of  the  doctrine  of 
merit? 

ID.  What  has  Christianity  to  learn  from  -Buddhism  as  to 
methods  of  approach? 

11.  What  practical  advantages  has  Christianity  over  Bud- 
hism  in  seeking  to  win  the  Laos? 

12.  How  much  effort  do  you  think  it  is  worth  that  the  Laos 
should  have  Christianity  instead  of  Buddhism? 


Questions  on  Chapter  IV 

1.  Have  you  ever  known  anyone  who  was  superstitious  in 

any  way? 

2.  How  do  you  account  for  such  feelings? 

3.  Which  is  the  best  guard  against  superstition,  Christianity 
or  common  sense? 


1 84  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

4.  Try  to  imagine  the  practical  effect  upon  your  own  life 
of  a  belief  in  evil  spirits. 

5.  What  effect  would  it  have  upon  your  perseverance? 

6.  What  effect  would  it  have  upon  planning  far  in  advance? 

7.  How  would  you  show  that  Buddhism  is  not  good  enough 
for  the  Laos? 

8.  What  are  the  practical  evils  of  the  belief  in  witchcraft? 

9.  What  practical  advantages   has   Christianity  over   spirit 
worship  in  seeking  to  win  the  Laos? 

10.  How  much  effort   do  you   think  it  is  worth  that  the 
Laos  should  have  Christianity  instead  of  spirit  worship? 


Questions  on  Chapter  X 

1.  What  responsibility  has  the  Presbyterian  Church  as- 
sumed in  occupying  a  field  where  no  other  Christian  bodies 
are  at  work? 

2.  What  do  the  results  of  Mr.  Caswell's  tutorship  indicate 
as  to  the  importance  of  work  for  ruling  classes? 

3.  What  sort  of  missionaries  are  needed  for  such  work? 

4.  For  what  various  reasons  do  you  think  Dr.  McGilvary 
might  be  called  a  great  missionary? 

5.  Why  is  it  that  new  religions  are  so  often  persecuted? 

6.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  persecu- 
tion to  the  church? 


Questions  for  Study  185 

7.  What  would  you  infer  as  to  the  character  of  heathen 

religions  from  the  fact  that  those  away  from  home  are  so 
much  easier  to  win? 


8.  Give  several  reasons  why  growth  in  a  mission  field 
should  be  more  rapid  after  a  couple  of  decades. 

9.  What  are  the  relative  advantages  of  missionaries  and 
converted  natives  as  evangelists? 

10.  Is  the  mission  right  in  encouraging  the  Laos  Chris- 
tians to  undertake  work  in  French  territory  so  far  from 
home? 

11.  Formulate  the  responsibility  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
for  the  Laos-speaking  people  of  South  China. 


Questions  on  Chapter  XI 

1.  Is  the  main  duty  of  the  missionary  to  preach  the  gospel? 

2.  What  do  you  mean  by  preaching  the  gospel? 

3.  In  what  ways  would  the  work  of  the  evangelistic  mis- 
sionary differ  from  that  of  a  preacher  in  America? 

4.  What  are  the  main  arguments  for  spending  time  in 
training  natives  to  do  evangelistic  work  rather  than  in  direct 
preaching? 

5.  To  what  extent  do  you  think  these  arguments  hold  good 
for  church  work  in  America? 

6.  Give  the  arguments  for  intensive  as  opposed  to  extensive 
work  and  vice  versa. 


i86  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

7.  What  should  be  the  main  aims  of  a  missionary  in  an 
occasional  visit  to  a  station? 

8.  Do  you  think  that  Christians  in  America  would  thrive 
under  such  occasional  oversight? 

9.  Who  is  ultimately  to  blame  that  there  are  not  more  con- 
verts in  these  villages? 

10.  Which  do  you  think  are  most  in  need  of  pastoral  over- 
sight, Laos  Christians  or  Christians  in  America?  why? 

11.  Study  the  table  of  distances  and  travel  on  page  125 
and  try  to  discover  places  in  America  that  are  as  far  removed 
from  each  other  in  point  of  time  as  are  the  Laos  stations. 

12.  If  you  had  to  meet  in  your  Christian  work  the  same 
physical  difficulties  that  the  Laos  missionaries  meet  in  their 
touring,  would  you  consider  that  you  had  a  right  to  neglect 
it? 

13.  What  in  your  opinion  are  the  principal  needs  of  evan- 
gelistic work  among  the  Laos? 

14.  Whose  business  is  it  to  see  that  these  needs  are  met? 


Questions  on  Chapter  XII 

1.  What  is  the  main  purpose  of  medical  missions? 

2.  Would  medical  missions  be  justified  if  there  was  no  op- 
portunity for  direct  evangelistic  work  in  connection  with 
them? 

3.  Are  Christian  people  justified  in  maintaining  hospitals 
in  this  country  which  make  no  attempt  to  evangelize  their 
patients  ? 


Questions  for  Study  187 

4.  What  are  the  special  advantages  of  medical  over  other 
forms  of  missionary  work? 

5.  What    are   its    disadvantages    as   compared   with    other 
forms  ? 

6.  In  what  ways  can  a  hospital  be  most  effectively  made  a 
direct  evangelistic  agency? 

7.  What  rules  should  a  missionary  follow  in  the  employ- 
ment of  evangelists? 

8.  What  evidence  does  the  chapter  present  to  you  that  the 
Laos  do  become  genuine  Christians? 

9.  If   isolated   Laos    Christians    relapse   under   temptation, 
where  would  you  locate  the  final  responsibility? 

10.  Do  you  think  it  is  wise  to  send  out  as  teachers  of  Chris- 
tianity men  who  know  so  little  as  the  vaccinators? 

11.  Why  is   it   important  to   have  well-equipped  hospitals 
among  the  Laos? 

12.  How  is  this  equipment  to  be  secured  in  view  of  the 
lack  of  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  board? 


Questions  on  Chapter  XIII 

1.  Name  the  purposes  of  missionary  schools  in  such  a  field 
as  the  Laos  in  what  you  consider  the  order  of  their  impor- 
tance. 

2.  Indicate  the  sort  of  equipment  that  would  be  needed  to 

carry  out  these  purposes. 

3.  What  advantages  has  educational  over  other  forms  of 
missionary  work? 


1 88  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

4.  Should  we  be  justified  in  spending  time  teaching  non- 
Christians  if  no  conversions  resulted? 

5.  What  is  the  justification  of  maintaining  schools  at  all 
when  government  schools  exist? 

6.  What  course  of  studies  should  you  recommend  for  the 
Laos  as  compared  with  that  of  schools  in  America? 

7.  State  what  appear  to  you  to  be  the  principal  needs  of 
Laos  schools. 

8.  Why  do  you  think  the  board  sometimes  pursues  what 
seems  like  a  poor  business  policy  in  equipping  schools? 

9.  What  are  the  special  advantages  of  boarding  schools  on 
the  mission  field? 

10.  What  sort  of  training  do  you  think  a  prospective  edu- 
cational missionary  should  have? 

11.  Present  the  relative  claim  of  America  and  Laos  upon 
a  Christian  normal  school  graduate  who  is  free  to  go. 

12.  Why  is   it  important  to  compose  and  not  merely  to 
translate  the  vernacular  literature? 

13.  How  do  you  think  the  demand  for  literature  could  be 
stimulated  among  the  Laos? 

Questions  on  Chapter  XIV 

1.  If  the  aim   of  missions   is   to   found   a   self-supporting 
native  church,  when  is  the  time  to  begin  to  teach  self-support? 

2.  Does  the  experience  of  1894  indicate  any  previous  mis- 
take on  the  part  of  the  missionaries? 


Questions  for  Study  189 

3.  Because  retrenchment  proved  a  blessing  does  it  follow 
that  it  would  be  better  to  cut  down  appropriations  to  all 
missions? 

4.  In  what  ways  might  retrenchment  be  a  blessing  to  the 
work  at  home? 

5.  What  needs  can  be  provided  by  the  church  at  home  for 
the  native  church  without  fear  of  pauperizing  it? 

6.  What  things  should  the  native  church  be  expected  to 
provide  for  itself? 

7.  If  the  native  church  cannot  pay  for  these  things,  should 
mission  funds  be  used  for  the  purpose,  or  should  it  be 
obliged  to  go  without? 

8.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  making 
the  demands  upon  native  Christians  very  light? 

9.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  having 
Christianity  comparatively  popular? 

10.  What  responsibility  is  laid  upon  missionaries  when 
Christianity  is  popular? 

11.  Should  the  chief  emphasis  then  be  laid  upon  extensive 
or  intensive  work? 

12.  How  do  these  principles  apply  to  the  work  of  the  home 
church? 

13.  Should  Laos  Christian  conventions  be  made  as  like  or 
as  unlike  the  native  festivals  as  possible? 

14.  Give  several  reasons  why  the  Laos  seem  to  you  a  peo- 
ple worth  helping. 


I  go  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 


Questions  on  Chapter  XV 

1.  What  circumstances  constitute  for  any  field  a  special 
claim  on  the  missionary  activity  of  the  church? 

2.  Which  of  these  circumstances  are  present  in  the  case 
of  the  Laos  field? 

3.  Sketch  the  main  points  of  the  gospel  message  that  you 
think  would  be  most  attractive  to  the  average  Laos. 

4.  In  what  way  would  you  present  the  gospel  in  order  to 
overcome  indifference? 

5.  How  do  you  think  it  would  be  best  to  deal  with  the 
difficulty  of  the  ties  of  custom? 

6.  How  would  you  recommend  to  deal  with  the  breach  of 
moral  discipline  in  the  native  church? 

7.  How  will  the  entrance  of  commercialism  affect  the  spirit 
of  independence  and  the  old  customs? 

8.  How  will  it  affect  morality  and  indifference  towards  the 
gospel? 

9.  Sum  up  the  reason  why  the  present  is  a  time  of  special 
opportunity. 

ID.  What  would  be  the  Christian  force  in  your  state  if  it 
were  no  better  provided  than  the  Laos  field? 

11.  How  many  states  adjoining  your  own  would  equal  in 
population  the  over  four  million  Laos  in  French  and  Chinese 
territory? 

12.  Is  there  any  other  field  for  which  the  Presbyterian 
Church  alone  Is  responsible  that  is  so  inadequately  cared  for? 

13.  Sum  up  the  appeal  which  the  Laos  field  makes  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 


APPENDIX  A 

PRONUNCIATION   OF   PROPER  NAMES 

ai,  in  Mai  and  Rai,  as  in  aisle, 

ao,  in  Pao  and  Dao,  like  ow  in  cow  (Yankee  dialect). 

e  in  Me,  as  in  men. 

Chieng,  almost  like  chung. 

u  in  Muang,  like  German  ii. 

Pit-sa-nu-lok,  accent  on  last  syllable  (loke). 

Sala,  accent  on  last  syllable,  sa-lah'. 


APPENDIX   B 

DISTRIBUTION    AND    WORK    OF    THE    PRESENT    FORCE    OF    THE    LAOS 
MISSION 

Note. — In  brief  compass  it  is  not  possible  to  tell  all  the 
work  assigned  to  the  various  members  of  the  mission.  Be- 
sides, furloughs  often  make  changes  necessary,  temporarily 
at  least.  The  effort  is  to  designate  the  characteristic  work 
of  each  missionary  when  on  the  field.  Accordingly,  no  men- 
tion is  made  either  of  furloughs  or  of  temporary  assignments. 

The  figures  in  parentheses,  following  the  name,  show  the 
date  of  appointment. 

Chieng  Mai 

Rev.  Daniel  McGilvary,  D.  D.  (1858),  Mrs.  McGilvary 
(i860).  Evangelistic  work,  particularly  in  the  temples,  lit- 
erary work. 

19X 


192  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  G.  Collins  (1886).  The  Press.  Charge 
of  three  out-stations. 

James  W.  McKean,  M.  D.,  and  Mrs.  McKean  (1889).  In 
charge  of  the  hospital  and  dispensary.  Bible  translation. 
Laos  monthly.     Two  out-stations. 

Howard  Campbell,  D.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Campbell  (1894).  ^^ 
charge  of  Chieng  Mai  church.  Itineration.  Bible  transla- 
tion. Mrs.  Campbell  has  charge  of  the  Phraner  Memorial 
Primary  School. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Freeman  (1895),  Mrs.  Freeman  (1892).  Care 
of  the  churches  and  of  the  evangelistic  and  medical  work  in 
the  Province  of  Lampoon.  (Their  residence  is  Lampoon 
city,  seventeen  miles  from  Chieng  Mai.)  Preparation  of  the 
Sunday  school  helps.    Women's  classes. 

Rev.  William  Harris,  Jr.  (1895),  Mrs.  Harris  (1889). 
Principal  of  Prince  Royal  College.  Mission  Treasurer. 
Charge  of  Me  Dawk  Deng  Church. 

Miss  Edith  M.  Buck  (1903).  Teacher  and  Matron  in 
Girls'  School. 

Miss  Mabel  Gilson  (1904).    Principal  of  Girls'  School. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  M.  B.  Palmer  (1906).  Vice  Principal  of 
the  College.  Charge  of  three  out-stations.  Together  they 
train  the  schools  and  church  in  singing. 

Claude  W.  Mason,  M.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Mason  (1906).  Medi- 
cal work.    Two  out-stations. 

Lakawn   (65  miles  east  and  south  of  Chieng  Mai)" 

Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson,  D.  D.  (1858).  Evangelistic  work. 
Hymn  translation. 

Rev.  Roderick  Gillies  (1902)  and  Mrs.  Gillies  (1891). 
Evangelistic  touring.     Charge  of  Boys'  School. 

Charles  H.  Crooks,  M.  D.  and  Mrs.  Crooks  (1904). 
Charge  of  Van  Santvoort  Hospital.  Medical  itineration. 
Literary  work. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  Howells  Vincent  (1903)-  Charge  of  church. 
Itineration.     Direction  of  building  new  Boys'  School. 


Appendix  193 

Miss  Elizabeth  Carothers  (1904).     Charge  of  Girl's  School. 
Women's  classes. 
Miss  Eula  VanVranken  (1906).     Teacher  in  Boys'  School. 


Pre  (70  miles  southeast  of  Lakawn) 

Rev.    and    Mrs.    C.     R.     Callender     (1896).     Church    and 
evangelistic  work. 

Edwin  C.  Cort,  M.  D.     Medical  work.    Language  study. 


Nan  (90  miles  northeast  of  Pre,  160  miles  due  east  of  Chieng 

Mai) 

Rev.  S.  C.  Peoples,  M.  D.,  D.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Peoples  (1882). 
Medical  work  and  touring. 

Rev.  Hugh  Taylor,  D.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Taylor  (1888).  Church 
and  school  work. 


Chieng  Rai   (125  miles  northeast  of  Chieng  Mai) 

Rev.  W.  C.  Dodd,  D.  D.  (1886)  and  Mrs.  Dodd  (1887). 
Evangelistic  touring.  Charge  of  church  and  work  in  Keng 
Tung.    Literary  work. 

Rev.  W.  A.  Briggs,  M.  D.  (1890)  )and  Mrs.  Briggs  (1892). 
Medical  and  evangelistic  work.     Charge  of  local  church. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  Henry  White  (1902).  Evangelistic  work. 
School  work.  Charge  of  churches  south  of  the  city.  Women's 
classes. 

Rev.  Lyle  C.  Beebe  (1908).  Language  study.  Charge  of 
churches  north  of  the  city. 


Reinforcements,  1909   (Station  not  yet  assigned) 

Rev.  Wm.  O.  Yates.     Language  study.     Touring. 
Miss  Lucy  Starling.     Language  study.     Teaching. 


194  An  Oriental  Land  of  the  Free 


APPENDIX    C 

STATISTICS   OF    THE   LAOS    MISSION 

Statistics  given  are  in  every  case  the  latest  available;  for 
the  missionary  force,  1909;  for  the  native  church  and  work, 
1908  except  where  no  data  later  than  1907  are  at  hand. 

Missionary  Force 

Ordained    Men 17 

Doctors  (two  ordained) 6        21 

Wives    17 

Single   Ladies 5        22 

Total    Foreign    Missionaries 43 

Native  Helpers    (Incomplete) 

Ordained   Native   Ministers 4 

Native    Evangelists 30 

Teachers — Men,    30.     Women,    12,     Total 42 

Bible    Women 4 

Medical    Assistants 20 

Press    Employees 24 

Vaccinators  (Four  months  in  year) 125 


Native  Contributions  {Incomplete) 

For  Church  Expenses  Rs  178.49 

For  Schools "  210.21 

For  Missions "  113.09 

Total  contributions    Rs  501.79 

Equal $  167.09 


Appendix  195 

Church  Statistics 

Organized  Churches   (none  aided) 18 

Stations    and    Out-stations 74 

Total    Communicants 3,705 

Additions  on  Confession  During  1908 331 

Sabbath  School  Pupils 2,923 

School  Statistics 

Boarding    Schools 5 

Day    Schools 24 

Pupils,  about 450 

Attendance  Training  Classes,  reported  about 135 

Total   under  instruction,   about 585 

Press  Report 
Pages  printed: 

For  Bible  Society  and  Mission 1,403,800 

For  outside  parties 1,314,770 

Total 2,718,570 


INDEX 


Alphabet,  The  Laos,  32 

Animals,  Wild,  85 

Arts  and  Industries,  Chapter 

V 
Average  Man,  The,  53 

Bangkok,  Trade  with,  89 
Laos  Boats  at,  42 

Bath,  The  Daily,  27 

Begging    Bowl,   The,   31 

Betel-Chewing,  57 

Bird  Life,  83 

Boatmen,  42 

Superstitions   of,   43 

Boats,  42,  63,  93,  94 

Bradley,  D.  B.,  M.  D.,  108 

Brick,  60 

Briggs,  W.  A.,  M.  D.,  11,  yj 

British  Laos,   15,   122 

Buddha,  The 

Great  Commandment  of,  39 
Ten  Commandments  of,  38 
Under  the  Po  Tree,  85 

Buddhism,    Chapter    III,    15, 
45 
And  Education,  ZZ,  ii7 
And  Spirit  Worship,  45 
Begging  Monks,  31 
Coming  of,    15,  32 
Karma,  36 

Messianic  Hope  of,  40 
No  Power  to  Deliver,  46 
What  Is  Buddhism?  35 

Buddhist  Bible,  33 

Buddhist  Philosophy,  35 

Buddhist  Temples,  31,  40,  59 

Buffalo,  The  Water,  67,  87 

Building  of  the  House,  56 

Bullock  Trains,  91 


Burma,  Trade  with,  90 
Border  War,  98-100 

Caravans,  Haw,  89 

Laos,  90 
Carving,  Laos,  62 
Caswell,   Rev.  Jesse,   108 
Cheek,    Marion,    M.    D.,    116, 

146 
Chieng  Dao,  130 
Chieng  Mai,  no,  in,  128,  130 
Chieng  Rai,  99,  115,   120,   131 
Chieng  Saan,  99,  115 
Children,  27,  58,  67,  87 
Chinese  Laos,  13,  17,  123 
Christ  and  the  Demons,  46 
Christian  Literature,  III,  i6r 
Circumstances     That      Have 

Helped,  174 
Courtship,  Laos,  22, 

Dacoity,  98,  99 
Daughters    Welcomed,  28 
Demons,   Chapter   IV 
Difficulties,  175 
Divorce  Causes,  25 

Famine  and,  26 

Prevalence   of,   25 
Doctor  Keo,  141-143 

Education,     Buddhism     and, 

ZZ 

See  Schools 
Elder   La,   Teacher,    169,    170 
Elephants  at  Work,  75 

Of  Siam,  76 

Rogue,  ^^ 

Ship  of  the  Forest,  95 
The  Prince's,  78 
Wild,  76 


197 


igS 


Index 


Equipment  of  Hospitals,   145 
Exports,  92-94 

Face   of   the   Land,    Chapter 

VII 
Fair  Laos,  80 
Famine,   119 

And  Divorce,  26 
Feasts,  57,  70,   117,  118 
Fleeson,  Miss  K.,   136,   158 
Flowers,  82 
Forests,  Work  in,  74 

Beauty  of,  82 

First  Temples,  84 

Trees  of,  83-85 

Gardens,   Vegetable,   72 

Nature's  Own,  81 
Gospel,    Coming   of.    Chapter 

Government,  Chapter  IX 

Harvest,  69,  70 
Harvest    Festivals,    70 
Hill  Tribes,  The.  14,  16,  74 
Homes,  23,  58,  59 
Home  Industries,  53 
Hospitals  and  Healing,  Chap- 
ter XII 
Houses,  23,  56,  58 
House-Raising,  57 

Imports,  91-93 
Indian  Gods,  35 
Ingenuity,  Mechanical,  55 
Irrigation,  66,  67 

Jams,  Log,  75 

"Jesus  Man,"  The,  142 

Kham  Ai,  Pastor,   169 
Kroo  Nan  Ta,  117 

Lacquer  Ware,  61 
Lakawn  Station,  118,  147 
Laos  Alphabet,  32 


Laos,  The,  Are  They  Malay 
or  Mongolian?  22 
Are  They  Lazy?  102 
B.  A.  and  M._  A.,  33 
Captives  in  Siam,  109 
Carving  and   Sculpture,  62 
Characters  of,  11 1 
Conventions,   117,   118 
Debt  to  Buddhism,  41 
Extent  of,  16 
Homes,  23,  58,  59 
Houses,  23,  56,  58 
House-Raising,  57 
In  China,  13 
Ingenuity,  55 
Literature,  34 
Language  vs.  Siamese,   tio 
Mission,  Opening  of,  no 
Minstrelsy,  34 
Numbers  of,  17 
Origin  of  Name,  16 
Race  Inheritance  of,  22 
Reasons  for  Interest  in,  18 
Silverware,   61 
Success  of  Missions,  19 

115,  173 
Type  for,   in 
Lepers,  148-150 
Looms,  54 

Malaria  and  Smallpox,  139 

Marriage,  24 

Martyrs,   113 

McGilvary,  Daniel,  D.  D.,  9. 
107,  109,  no,  112,  113, 
115,  121,  122,  139 

McKean,  J.  W.,  M.  D.,  9,  77, 
141 

Medical  Work,  Chapter   XII 

"Meeung,"   57,  9h   94 

Me  Ping  Rapids,  42,  95 

Merit-Making,   37 

Messianic  Hope  (See  Bud- 
dhism) 

Methods  That  Have  Helped, 
174 


Index 


199 


Misgovernmient,  98,  loi 
Missions  in  Siam 

Beginnings  of,  107 

And   Social  Progress,   108 
Mission  Work,  Aim  of,  163 
Missionary     Opportunity     of, 

51,  173 
Monkeys  and  Apes,  87 
Monks,  Buddhist  Vows  of,  33 

Begging  of,  31 
Moral  Law,  38,  39 
Muang  Pao,  130 

Nan  Pan,  Evangelist,  170 
Nan   Station,   120,   158 
Native  Church,  The,  Chapter 
XIV 
Convention  of,  167 
Growth  of.  Early,  163 
Growth    of,    Since    1894, 

165 
Leaders  of,  169 
Needs  of,  166 
Result  of  Change  in  1894, 

164 
Self-Propagation  in,  167 
Self-Support  in,  166 
Situation  in  1894,  164 
Needs   of   Mission,    177,    178 

Opportunities,    Open    Doors, 

173 
Outlook,  176 
Out-stations,  124,  130 

Pali,  15 

Peoples,    S.    C,   D.    D.,    118, 

119,   120 
Persecution,  113 
Planting  Rice,  68 
Plowing,  67 
Population,  Laos,  17 

Dense,  80 

Sparse,  81 
Ponies,  96 
Po  Tree,  Sacred,  85 


Pre  Station,  119 
Presbyterian   Church, 

Responsibility    of,    10,    18, 
123 
Press,  Beginning  of,  III 

Work  of,  160 
Prince  and  Peasant,  47 
Prosperity,  Signs  of,  58 
Pun,  Elder,    ("Crazy")*   140 

Regime,  The  Old,  102 
Religious  Liberty,   Proclama- 
tion of,  114 
Rice,  65-73 
Rice  and  Teak,  65 
Rice  Pounders,  The,  73 

San  Ya  We  Chai,   115 
Schools,  Chapter  XIII 

At  Chieng  Mai,  156 

At  Lakawn,  158 

At  Nan,  159 

Bible  Training,  159 

Boarding,   155 

Constituency  of,  151 

Future  of,    155 

Government,   153 

Problems  of,   152 

Village,  152 

Tigers,  86 
Tobacco,  Use  of,  57 
Touring  and  Teaching,  Chap- 
ter XI 
Tours,  Long,  112 
Touring,  Aim  of,  124 

By  Ladies,  136 

In  the  Wet  Season,  132 

Season,   127 

Two  Phases  of,  127 
Trade,  Cross  Country,  92 

Routes,    89 

Women  and,  30 
Trade    and    Travel,    Chapter 

VIII 
Transmigration,    36 


200 


Index 


Vaccination,   1 12,   128,   139 
Vaccinators,  144 
Villages,  Laos,  54 
Vrooman,  C  W.,  M.  D.,  116 

Walls,  City,  60 

Weaving,  54 

Western  Shans,  15 

Wieng      Chan,     Capture     of, 

103,  109 
Wilson,   Jonathan,    D.    D.,    9, 
107,    no,    118,    162 


Witchcraft,    Demon   Worship 
and,   Chapter   III 

Accusation  of,  48 

Penalty  of,  49 

Results  of,  49,  50 
Woman  in  the  Home,  Chap- 
ter II 

A  Worthy,  54 

And  Trade,  30 

Industry  of,  54 

On  a  Journey,  29 

Position  of,  28 


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An  oriental  land  of  the  free,  or.  Life 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00044  8938 


